Tully, a film starring Charlize Theron as a mom struggling to stay afloat, is dividing critics and mental health workers alike. Some say it’s a daring look at the anxiety that comes with motherhood; others say it’s a caricature of serious mental health concerns.

For Olivia Scobie, founder of Postpartum Support Toronto, the reaction itself is most important. “Love it or hate it,” she says, “I just want people to talk about (maternal) mental health.”

Ask new parents how they feel and you’ll hear some combination of elation and fatigue. You probably won’t hear about the numbing exhaustion, intense anxiety, loneliness — or in rare cases, hallucinations.

Though moms are much-deserving of praise, they don’t always feel like superheroes, despite the Hallmark holiday sentiment. The full celebration that moms deserve is one that recognizes the complex spectrum of emotion and mental taxation.

With Mother’s Day already passed and Mental Health Awareness Month in full swing, it’s a good time to drag these complicated feelings into the light.

“We (still) think pregnancy should be this glowing time and that for parents who wanted children, every moment is a blessing,” says Dr. Ariel Dalfen, head of Mount Sinai’s Perinatal Mental Health Program in Toronto. And while mommy blogs and pop culture have helped dispel the June Cleaver myth of perfection, revealing more sleepless nights and self-doubt, many new mothers still feel immediate pressure to thrive all of the time.

“We (still) think pregnancy should be this glowing time and that for parents who wanted children, every moment is a blessing,” says Dr. Ariel Dalfen.

The truth is that giving birth can be traumatic, both physically and mentally (granted, we’ve only witnessed this part as fathers). Then come the first few bewildering months as parents. The experience can be an upheaval, and for 20 per cent of new mothers and fathers (yes, dads suffer, too), it results in some form of perinatal mood disorder.

We are starting to talk more about postpartum depression, but don’t often hear of the full spectrum of mental health for parents. Concerns range from the fairly common postpartum anxiety and obsessive compulsive disorder to the very rare psychosis.

We need to help new parents recognize these concerns and encourage them to seek help. Then we need to ensure that they get it.

One new mother in California was visiting her obstetrician for a checkup recently. When asked how she was doing, she responded truthfully, saying she had angry, sometimes violent thoughts.

The mother had never acted on these thoughts. She was scared and hoped to talk about therapy or medication. Instead, a nurse called the police. It’s an extreme example, to be sure, but it’s a result of a failure to normalize mental health discussions.

In Canada, resources are inconsistent. Cities have medical clinics staffed with midwives and mental health experts, and postpartum support groups. Outside of urban centres, the landscape is often stark.

Dalfen’s clinic offers counselling over the phone and online — a first in the field — bringing treatment to parents no matter where they live. More resources are needed to expand these efforts, ensuring all parents have access to mental health screening and support.

Craig and Marc Kielburger are the co-founders of the WE movement, which includes WE Charity, ME to WE Social Enterprise and WE Day. For more dispatches from WE, check out WE Stories.

“You don’t need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows,” Bob Dylan sang. But these days, a guide through the seemingly endless flurry of pop culture offerings is just what we need. With that in mind, here is what’s on the radar screen in TV, music and film for the coming week.

MOVIES

Big release on May 25: Solo: A Star Wars Story.

Big picture: It’s like Ocean’s Eleven in space — only with less Brad Pitt and more Wookiee. Star Wars fans have long dreamt about and dreaded this movie. A young Han Solo (Alden Ehrenreich) meeting Chewbacca and beginning his career in the underworld in a galaxy far, far away — not to mention first laying eyes on a certain ship called … the Millennium Falcon? What’s not to like? Add Donald Glover as a young, roguish Lando Calrissian! Count us in for excitement.

The optics look even better with Woody Harrelson playing Han’s scoundrel of a mentor, who aptly foreshadows future events in the series with this piece of advice for Han: “Assume everyone will betray you and you will never be disappointed.” Cocky but not yet curmudgeonly, expect Han to find parts of his inner hero by the time credit role.

Next up (as we all know): bringing down an empire, marrying a princess and then creating a monster with said princess who will eventually lead a new incarnation of the empire he defeated. (Maybe all that smooth criminal behaviour is in Kylo Ren’s’ DNA? Maybe it’s not just the Skywalker blood?)

The early critics’ take on this movie is a general consensus of “fun but forgettable.” On a positive note, we do get more droids — and we learn Chewbacca is more than 200 years old (190 at the time of meeting Han).

Forecast: May the force be with Disney if they can only make an average movie about the most beloved character in the Star Wars canon. On a positive note, we do get more droids — and we learn Chewbacca is over 200 years old (190 at the time of meeting Han).

Terrence Howard hosts Terrence Howard’s Fright Club []

TV

Big events: Terrence Howard’s Fright Club (May 24, Fox); Steve Martin and Martin Short: An Evening You Will Forget for the Rest of Your Life (May 25, Netflix)

Big picture: Terrence Howard’s Fright Club is a one-hour special that feels like Punk’d meets Willy Wonka meets The Truman Show in hell. Howard invites his biggest fans for what they think is a once-in-a-lifetime chance to hang with him for a weekend at a filmed VIP experience. Which just happens to be in his Gothic, remote southern mansion in New Orleans. Which actually turns out to be a House of Horrors — and hidden cameras — and rigged with all kinds of frights (swamp monsters, ghosts, crazed killers, voodoo magic, etc.).

Watch as Howard watches his fans freak out from his “secret control room.” Then ask yourself why you’re watching. Then quietly pray the apes take over the planet soon. Then keep watching because you’re hooked.

Meanwhile, Netflix’s comedy special finds two of the Three Amigos! making jokes at the expense of their 30-year friendship.

Forecast: The Queen will be inspired by Howard and commission Buckingham: Palace of Terror, a reality show in which diehard royalists are invited to spend a weekend with the Royal Family only to find themselves locked in, alone in the palace for the weekend with Thomas Markle. As for Fright Club, I leave you with this: “We’ve invited some of my biggest fans to make them the unwitting stars of their own horror movie,” Howard brags at one point. Expect a severe drop in Terrence’s online fan community.

Lauren Mayberry, left, and Martin Doherty, of the Scottish electronic band Chvrches []

MUSIC

Big release on May 25: Chvrches (Love is Dead).

Big picture: You may not think of Scotland as the home of synth pop. Chvrches’ talented frontwoman Lauren Mayberry is out to change your mind. Plus, she gives me hope that my synth-polka band experiment will finally take off because Mayberry is also a former professional journalist and writerly type.

That said, the band’s most popular songs have pretty simple titles: Recover, Gun, Get Out, Get Away, We Sink, Miracle, etc. Maybe I should re-think my pension for complex song titles like Subterranean Homesick Polka King Blues and Dance the Polka, Flirt with Disaster.

Forecast: Finally, a Chvrch you’ll go back to more than once every year at Christmas.

]]>http://o.canada.com/entertainment/pop-forecast-for-may-22-solo-a-star-wars-story-and-more/feed0Film Review Solo: A Star Wars Storypostmedianews1Terrence Howard hosts Terrence Howard's Fright ClubLauren Mayberry, left, and Martin Doherty, of the Scottish electronic band ChvrchesGlobal Voices: Tracking apps for giving backhttp://o.canada.com/life/global-voices-tracking-apps-for-giving-back
http://o.canada.com/life/global-voices-tracking-apps-for-giving-back#respondWed, 16 May 2018 19:48:28 +0000http://o.canada.com/?p=767929How many steps did you take today? How many calories did you eat?

Odds are, most readers could answer these questions just by whipping out their smartphones. We’re living in the app age, where everyone is walking around with a personal lifestyle auditor in their pocket.

Tracking apps are fuelling a boom in self-improvement with software that measures every aspect of our lives — not just steps and calories, but minutes meditated and alcohol consumed. Some apps even claim to track and quantify your sleep cycles and stress levels. In 2017, the top 10 self-help apps made more than $27 million (a good chunk of change considering most are priced under $1).

But we might not be measuring what really matters: Why not track your giving back to quantify how much you’re making the world better?

Years ago, the tiny Asian nation of Bhutan took a hard look at how it measured progress as a country. Like most nations, it uses the economic barometer of Gross Domestic Product. But those numbers only quantify trade activity; they don’t reveal anything about quality of life for citizens.

Bhutan developed the Gross National Happiness Index, which measures not only employment and trade, but access to art and culture, work-life balance, and environmental health.

This change in metrics allowed the government to build policies that better focus on the holistic needs of its citizens, like increasing education and cultural programs in rural areas when these districts delivered lower happiness ratings. After all, you can’t fix what you don’t measure.

There are apps to track your volunteerism, such as helping to pick up litter in wooded areas [Getty Images/iStockphoto]

As individuals, we can all take a cue from Bhutan and trace the aspects of our lives that lead to a more comprehensive sense of well-being.

Want to track your environmental impact? There’s more than one app for that. Apps like Dropcountr can track water waste in your home to help you reduce usage. Or measure your carbon footprint with GoGreen. We’ll bet that when your phone says you halved your greenhouse gas emissions by walking to the corner store instead of driving, it’ll make you feel just as good as finding out how many calories you burned along the way.

What about counting your volunteer hours each week? If you’re looking for a meter stick for self-care, scientific studies have proven that helping others boosts your own physical and mental well-being. And yes, Once you’ve input those three hours you spent helping at the charity garage sale, be sure to flip over to your stress-level tracker and see how much it’s reduced your blood pressure.

There are numerous things you could be counting that would make a difference both in your life, and in the lives of others. Even if there’s no app for that, keep a diary. How any minutes of screen time did your family avoid this week in favour of real-life conversations? How many pounds of food have you donated to your local food bank this year?

All numbers are not created equal. Measure the things that really count.

Craig and Marc Kielburger are the co-founders of theWE movement,which includes WE Charity, ME to WE Social Enterprise and WE Day. For more dispatches from WE, check out WE Stories.

“You don’t need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows,” Bob Dylan sang. But these days, a guide through the seemingly endless flurry of pop culture offerings is just what we need. With that in mind, here is what’s on the radar screen in TV, music and film for the coming week.

MOVIES

Big releases on May 18: Book Club; Deadpool 2.

Big Picture: Book Club is about four older women whose lives are reinvigorated and reinvented — sigh, soft whimper on behalf of human civilization — after reading Fifty Shades if Grey. Diane Keaton, Jane Fonda, Candice Bergen, and Mary Steenburgen co-star. It’s like Sex in the City meets Golden Girls. Expect a lot of jokes about spanking and Viagra.

Meanwhile, Deadpool returns for more cold-blooded, sarcastic violence and killing — all while mugging for and commenting directly to the film’s audience. This time the anti-hero grows a conscience in forming a ragtag team of mutants called the X-Force to protect a young mutant a from the time-travelling, half-cyborg named Cable. It’s like Terminator meets … Deadpool. “We need them tough, morally flexible and young enough to carry their own franchise for 10 to 12 years,” he says in assembling his misfit mutants.

Forecast: You would have preferred Deadpool 2: Book Club.

Martin Freeman, left, and Simon Landers in Cargo [Netflix]

TV

Big releases: Cargo (May 18, Netflix); Fahrenheit 451 (May 19, HBO).

Big picture: Michael B. Jordan and Michael Shannon star in an HBO film adaptation of Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury’s dystopian novel. “Words are a terror, son” Jordan’s soldier is told and “knowledge is a dangerous thing.” Thanks HBO. Releasing an adaptation of THIS famous novel while Donald Trump is still U.S. president? The man has never read a book and now you help him see a potential utility for books: kindling!

Meanwhile, Martin Freeman (Watson in Sherlock, BilboBaggins in The Hobbit trilogy) stars in this Australian zombie thriller about a dad carrying his baby through a Mad Maxian zombie-filled dystopia. Set in Oz, this one ends in a search for “the clever man” and his Indigenous “good medicine” in the Outback. It’s Walking Dead meets Sundance.

Forecast: People against book burning will change their minds after watching Book Club.

Big picture: Bay’s second studio album features the usual block of breakup and yearning pop numbers. LaMontagne’s seventh studio album will be brighten up your playlist. He’s been compared to Van Morrison, Nick Drake and Otis Redding for a damn good reason. Meanwhile, Matthew Sweet proves his ’90s pop rock sugar hasn’t gone sour with this mature effort.

Forecast: more albums with the word “light” in the title.

]]>http://o.canada.com/entertainment/pop-forecast-for-may-14-book-club-cargo-and-more/feed0Book Club (2018)postmedianews1Martin Freeman, left, and Simon Landers in CargoRay LaMontagneGreece is the word for Celestyal sailinghttp://o.canada.com/travel/ports-and-bows/greece-is-the-word-for-celestyal-sailing
http://o.canada.com/travel/ports-and-bows/greece-is-the-word-for-celestyal-sailing#respondFri, 11 May 2018 19:06:57 +0000http://o.canada.com/?p=767857

ATHENS, Greece — For 18 years, I’ve been trying to make it to Santorini, Greece. A storm on a four-day cruise in March 2000 scrapped my chance at landing on the island, and I’ve made two failed attempts since then to go back. On a windswept Thursday earlier this month, I realized that dream aboard the 1,664-passenger Celestyal Olympia as part of Celestyal Cruises (celestyalcruises.com) four-day Iconic Aegean cruise.

Sailing from the port of Piraeus, near Athens, this is the ultimate classic Greek Islands journey. It departs just before noon on Mondays and immediately sets sail for an evening in Mykonos. The following day, it visits Kusadasi, Turkey, gateway to the ancient city of Ephesus, before spending the evening anchored off the charming little island of Patmos. A full day is spent on Wednesdays in Rhodes, Greece, while Thursdays see calls on Heraklion, Crete and Santorini before returning back to Piraeus on Friday morning.

What’s amazing about how Celestyal Cruises does this voyage is just how much value the line — headquartered in Cyprus and based in Greece — packs into these short runs. Inclusive beverages and gratuities, plus a selection of complimentary tours, are available to those who book online with the company. Voyages are value-priced, making hopping aboard these quick cruises a real pleasure.

You’d hardly know that Celestyal Olympia is more than 30 years old. Built in 1982 as Royal Caribbean’s Song of America, Celestyal has taken exceptional care of this cosy and comfortable vessel since they acquired her in 2004. She doesn’t have all the latest bells and whistles, but she’s charming and comfortable in a way that modern megaships just aren’t.

On this port-intensive cruise, I was impressed at how much effort Celestyal Olympia’s excellent crew put into making afternoon runs between islands memorable. Live music was available throughout the ship during the day, and with inclusive beverages (for those who book direct with the line), it became easy to sit in the comfortable Argo Bar sipping Greek beers while the Aegean Sea thundered past the windows. By night, deck parties, production shows, live music and multiple dining venues stole the show once guests had returned from their adventures ashore.

Celestyal Olympia off Santorini, Greece.

Most staterooms are interior cabins or oceanview rooms, though a few suites are available. Yes, standard staterooms are small, but you’re really just there to sleep. A recent refit has left interior furnishings looking great, and there’s a very decent amount of storage space available.

This isn’t the kind of cruise you fly all the way to Greece for, but it does serve as an excellent extension to a longer overland trip through Europe. And you will want to stay longer in Athens, particularly to tour the Acropolis, with its amazing Parthenon; or to visit the incredible Acropolis Museum that opened a few years back in the heart of the city’s Plaka district.

I’d recommend a few nights at the Athenaeum InterContinental. It’s a quick 15-minute drive in from the port in Piraeus and offers a free shuttle that runs to and from Syntagma Square, in the heart of Athens. It’s worth a night or two here just to admire the property’s amazing collection of Greek artwork or to take in dinner on the rooftop restaurant within sight of the Acropolis. Falling asleep on one of the comfortable beds in its Executive Rooms is the perfect accompaniment to a satisfying cruise.

Unlike other lines that are only in Greece seasonally, this is Celestyal’s homeland. The company takes great pride in offering value-packed voyages through the Eastern Mediterranean aboard its diverse fleet of three. With cruises that range from three to seven days exploring the far reaches of Greece, Turkey, Egypt, Israel and Cyprus — and ships packed with international travellers from around the world, Celestyal offers one of the most unique and uncommon (not to mention affordable) Eastern Mediterranean experiences out there.

I was charmed by my four days aboard Celestyal Olympia; four days in which I saw and did more than most cruise lines pack into a single week. If you’re put off by the big new ships doing the same old runs, Celestyal Cruises and its fleet of three offers a welcome change.

Happy cruising.

Visit Portsandbows.com, sponsored by Expedia CruiseShipCenters, 1-800-410-4744,www.cruise.center, for daily updates on the latest cruise news, best deals and behind-the-scenes stories from the industry. You can also sign up for an email newsletter on the site for even more cruise information. Aaron Saunders may be contacted directly atportsandbowsaaron@gmail.com

]]>http://o.canada.com/travel/ports-and-bows/greece-is-the-word-for-celestyal-sailing/feed0ftdc_Celestyal_Mykonos-0516aaronpsaundersGlobal Voices: Healing the wounds of Canada’s residential schoolshttp://o.canada.com/life/global-voices-healing-the-wounds-of-canadas-residential-schools
http://o.canada.com/life/global-voices-healing-the-wounds-of-canadas-residential-schools#respondTue, 08 May 2018 06:31:54 +0000http://o.canada.com/?p=767754Not far from the sleepy suburb where we grew up, there is a site of unspeakable trauma.

About 120 kilometres west of Toronto, you’ll find the grounds of the former Mohawk Institute, one of Canada’s longest-running residential schools. From 1828 until it finally shuttered in 1970, thousands of indigenous children were sent to the boarding school, ripped from their families in an act of cultural genocide.

The site of this historic trauma is separated from our idyllic childhood by a short stretch of Highway 401 — but we never saw it.

We’re betting most readers haven’t, either.

Some of our strongest memories from school involve field trips to museums and science centres. We visited none of the sites from our nation’s darkest moments.

Most of the roughly 140 residential schools that once dotted the country were tucked away, but a few stood near major cities and towns, with grounds or memorials still accessible to the majority of Canadians.

Over nine million people in Ontario’s golden horseshoe live within 300 kilometres of the Woodland Cultural Centre that now occupies the buildings of the Mohawk Institute in Brantford, Ont. Around 15,000 people visit every year, including many school groups, to learn about the past, present and future of First Nations in Ontario and the impact of Canada’s residential schools.

Seeing history is often more powerful than learning about it in textbooks — but far fewer people visit the grounds of former residential schools near Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Saskatoon or Halifax.

Seeing history is often more powerful than learning about it in textbooks.

Museums many not stand at those sites, but the grounds, few remaining structures and often unmarked cemeteries can still tell stories that are important for all Canadians to hear. Following the recommendations of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, all sites of former residential schools should have memorials.

For many, like Ry Moran, director of the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation, preserving and witnessing these grounds is a step toward reconciliation. “The buildings and the sites ought to be remembered, designated, commemorated,” he says. “They offer a chance to learn.”

The 80,000 residential school survivors still alive today are getting older — remembering their stories should be a pressing concern for all Canadians. We’re not the only ones with dark spots on our history, and we can take a cue from others.

In response to a rising tide of antisemitism, a Berlin state legislator tabled a radical idea earlier this year: mandatory trips to former Nazi concentration camps for all Germans. The only way to combat the evils of history, she said, is to confront it.

We think Canadians have more confronting to do.

“It’s important to see the schools, to see the evidence, to see where the children slept and where too many of them are buried,” says Moran.

Not all young people can visit a residential school and not all indigenous communities want to open the doors of their trauma. The community most affected should have the last word on how to memorialize their history. But parents and educators who have the opportunity and community consent can make our history come alive for the youngest Canadians, charting a better path forward.

Craig and Marc Kielburger are the co-founders of the WE movement, which includes WE Charity, ME to WE Social Enterprise and WE Day. For more dispatches from WE, check out WE Stories.

]]>http://o.canada.com/life/global-voices-healing-the-wounds-of-canadas-residential-schools/feed0Lac La Biche Mission in Alberta is the site of a former residential schoolcraigkielburgerBooks for Kids: Stop Feedin’ da Boids!, Dr. Coo and the Pigeon Protesthttp://o.canada.com/entertainment/books/books-for-kids-stop-feedin-da-boids-dr-coo-and-the-pigeon-protest
http://o.canada.com/entertainment/books/books-for-kids-stop-feedin-da-boids-dr-coo-and-the-pigeon-protest#respondMon, 07 May 2018 20:16:28 +0000http://o.canada.com/?p=767793Bernie Goedhart

Forget the first crocus or the first buds on a tree. For me, a true sign of spring is pigeon poop on my balcony and incessantly cooing pigeons on the windowsills. This year, they’ve come and gone several times, what with the iffy weather, but when the snow finally leaves, the pigeons are back. Hence, my preoccupation with bird books:

Stop Feedin’ da Boids!

James Sage, illustrated by Pierre Pratt

Kids Can Press

This is a colourful picture book about Swanda, who moves from the country to an urban setting — Brooklyn, to be exact — with her dog, Waldo, and soon discovers she misses the wildlife she has left behind. So when she encounters a flock of little birds on her fire escape, she sets up a bird feeder. But that attracts even more avian visitors, including pigeons too big for the feeder who then take up residence on the windowsills and fire escape steps where they – you guessed it! — coo and poop. It doesn’t take long before Mr. Kaminski, the building superintendent, and Swanda’s neighbours voice their complaints, and — as the title makes clear — demand a solution. Montreal’s Pierre Pratt has done a great job of illustrating this book, his stylized art clearly capturing the humour of the surprise twist at the end. Ages three to seven.

Dr. Coo and the Pigeon Protest

Sarah Hampson, illustrated by Kass Reich

Kids Can Press

Author and illustrator, both based in Toronto, tackle the situation from the birds’ point of view, with Dr. Coo — “a big-city kind of pigeon” who knew how to get around and “how to land in just the right places” — citing historical times when pigeons were treated with respect, and even praised for their heroism as messengers during wars. The birds, determined to regain that respect, stage a public protest and propose a way to co-exist in peace and mutual benefit (the poop, for example, to be used as compost). Ages four to eight.

The Triumphant Tale of the House Sparrow []

The Triumphant Tale of the House Sparrow

Jan Thornhill

Groundwood Books

This book takes the spotlight off pigeons and puts it squarely on the humble sparrow with the opening sentence: “Behold the most despised bird in human history!” Personally, I’d rather have a flock of sparrows on my windowsills than those annoying pigeons, but Thornhill proceeds to make her case with 19 double-page spreads of art and historic facts about the little birds, and three additional pages of information about not only the somewhat endangered house sparrows but also other “wild animals that choose to live with us.” The text is lengthier than in most picture books but, by its nature, is aimed at older readers and presented in such a way that even those who don’t normally gravitate to non-fiction will find the content of interest. Ages eight to 12.

This is the Nest That Robin Built

Denise Fleming

Beach Lane Books

This brings us back to fiction (albeit based on fact, since it illustrates a bird’s nest-building techniques). Patterned after the well-known cumulative verse about Jack and his house-building skills, author/illustrator Fleming uses her distinctive printmaking techniques combined with collage to depict the way Robin’s friends (Squirrel, Dog, Horse, Pig, Mouse and Rabbit), contribute to the creation of a nest where three hungry nestlings emerge from small blue eggs, grow into fledglings and unceremoniously set off on their own one day. Ages three to eight.

A slim, horizontal hardcover book with glossy pages of varying colours and a sophisticated design format that allows for dramatic layouts, the opening pages consist of introductory notes from author and illustrator, preparing the reader for the philosophical question embedded in this little gem of a book about a feather that tries to determine its origins. With stunning images of various birds ranging from mallard to peacock to heron, the hopeful little feather is repeatedly told that no, she is not theirs. But skylark takes pity on the little lost feather, whose dream is to fly high in the sky. Taking her in its beak, the skylark soars through the clouds and releases Feather so they can float down together. But before they reach the ground, they encounter a hawk. Not only does the feather get another “no” in response to her question, but the hawk attacks the skylark and Feather loses the only one who has shown her kindness. Begging the wind to carry her away, she eventually lands in a farmer’s field and, at long last, gets the answer to her question. For all ages.

Plume

Isabelle Simler

Eerdmans Books

This book has minimal text but beautiful art. Originally published in France, its endpapers depict various feathers (23 in the front, ranging from turtledove and buzzard to sparrow and sandpiper; 19 in the back, ranging from pheasant to parakeet and finch to flamingo). Double-page spreads inside show individual birds and sophisticated art and layout. Young readers will probably catch on to the surprise Simler has built into those double-page spreads long before adult readers spot it and arrive at the non-feathered conclusion of this beautiful, oversize picture book. All ages, but especially two to five.

Charles

Stephen Hume, illustrated by Jessica Bromley Bartram

Fitzhenry & Whiteside

Scheduled for release May 1, this is the story of a little girl who finds an injured crow and nurses it back to health. It becomes her companion and friend. When it inevitably returns to nature, she longs for it to come back. One night it does, bringing her a gift. This book is colourfully illustrated in a naïf fashion. Ages three to eight.

]]>http://o.canada.com/entertainment/books/books-for-kids-stop-feedin-da-boids-dr-coo-and-the-pigeon-protest/feed0coverspostmedianews1The Triumphant Tale of the House SparrowThis is the Nest That Robin BuiltPop Forecast for May 7: Life of the Party, Safe and morehttp://o.canada.com/entertainment/pop-forecast-for-may-7-life-of-the-party-safe-and-more
http://o.canada.com/entertainment/pop-forecast-for-may-7-life-of-the-party-safe-and-more#respondMon, 07 May 2018 06:14:17 +0000http://o.canada.com/?p=767746Chris Lackner

“You don’t need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows,” Bob Dylan sang. But these days, a guide through the seemingly endless flurry of pop culture offerings is just what we need. With that in mind, here is what’s on the radar screen in TV, music and film for the coming week.

MOVIES

Big release on May 11: Life of the Party.

Big picture: It’s like Animal House meets Back to School meets Desperate Housewives. Deanna (Melissa McCarthy) is dumped by her husband of more than two decades. With ample free time, she opts to return to college to finish the degree she once abandoned to raise a family. Naturally, she ends up in the same school — and even classes —— as her teenage daughter.

And, of course, the higher education experience teaches her many valuable lessons: to have self-confidence and a sense of purpose, how to hold her liquor … and how to sleep with a frat boy in a library. The movie wins points alone just for this one-liner after said frat boy seduction. How was he afterward? Scared, Deanna tells her daughter, “but in a good way, like when you intentionally go through a haunted house.”

Big picture: Safe does for gated, rich suburbs what Broadchurch (the British version) did for quaint, English villages: make them terrifying. In a series crafted by novelist Harlan Coben, this miniseries stars Michael C. Hall (no longer playing the killer!) as a father, surgeon and widower who moves his family into a peaceful gated community — only to have one of his daughter’s vanish and find himself surrounded by secretive, creepy murder suspects.

Meanwhile, how do you top playing a narcissistic, drug-dependent social misfit like Sherlock Holmes? If you’re Benedict Cumberbatch, by playing a worse one in a five-episode series about an alcoholic playboy trying to escape his demons. It’s an adaptation of novelist Edward St. Aubyn’s semi-autobiographical work and takes you through four dysfunctional decades in the titular character’s life. The stellar supporting cast includes Jennifer Jason Leigh and Holliday Grainger. Memorably, our dysfunctional leading man introduces himself to a fellow patient as, “Patrick. Narcissistic. Schizoid. Suicidal. Alcoholic.” It’s Sherlock Holmes meets Mad Men’s Don Draper meets Californication’s Hank Moody.

Forecast: You don’t need to be psychic to predict more serialized crime dramas and more anti-heroes.

Big Picture: Frontman Alex Turner recently listed some of the artists that served as inspiration on the Monkeys’ latest album, including Leonard Cohen, Nina Simone, Marvin Gaye, Joe Cocker, Dr. John and The Rolling Stones. Check us in to your Tranquility Base Hotel, sir! It sounds much more inviting than Hotel California.

Meanwhile, Beach House welcomes you into their seventh album of dream pop. Good effort. However, they’ll always be the second best band with Beach in the title.

Forecast: The Arctic Monkeys told Mojo their new songs were partly inspired by the “societal insanity” during 2016 and 2017. Finally, something good comes out of that depressing period of chaos! (You’ll enjoy their new effort, but not enough to stop building a time machine in your basement to go back to 2015).

]]>http://o.canada.com/entertainment/pop-forecast-for-may-7-life-of-the-party-safe-and-more/feed0Melissa McCarthy in Life of the Partypostmedianews1Benedict Cumberbatch in Patrick MelroseAlex Turner of the Arctic MonkeysRussia — not just vodka and nesting dollshttp://o.canada.com/travel/russia-not-just-vodka-and-nesting-dolls
http://o.canada.com/travel/russia-not-just-vodka-and-nesting-dolls#commentsThu, 03 May 2018 16:13:53 +0000http://o.canada.com/?p=767723Irene Seiberling

For Postmedia News

With the Russian river cruise season to reopen in just a few months — running from about May to mid October — now is the time to start setting things in motion. Travelling to Russia requires significant advance planning!

Why travel to Russia? For some, this choice of travel destination tends to raise eyebrows. I was a bit skeptical, but it was an experience my sister had waited 45 years to share with me. So, spouses in tow, we boarded the Viking Truvor for a river cruise that explored the many surprising splendours this amazing country has to offer — from the dazzling onion-domed churches and lavish palaces in St. Petersburg and Moscow to an array of small villages showcasing Russian traditions and artisans.

It was wonderful!

First-time visitor’ preconceptions — such as expectations of Russian cities being grey, stoic, uninviting places inhabited by stern-looking, unwelcoming residents — quickly changed. St. Petersburg and Moscow — at least those portions showcased for Western visitors — are beautiful clean, modern cities, with friendly people proud to share their country and their culture.

As first-timers, we were looking for knowledgeable professionals to co-ordinate our trip. With the help of the top-tier staff at Viking Cruises, we enjoyed a safe, memorable experience and avoided unpleasant travel challenges.

Moscow’s historic Red Square is home of the iconic Saint Basil’s Cathedral. []

Advance planning is a must.

Visiting Russia requires a valid passport, as well as an entrance visa, which takes time — and hundreds of dollars — to get. So be sure to allow ample time for processing, and note that you will be without your passport for several weeks as the visa is being processed.

Learn a few key phrases.

No one expects you to be fluent in Russian as a traveller. While local tour guides are trained to act as interpreters to ease conversing with local residents, learning a few key phrases can come in handy, and be appreciated by those you encounter. For example, “thanks” in Russian is pronounced “spasiba” and “bye” is “paka.”

If you want to be able to read signs in Russia, you’ll need to familiarize yourself with the Russian Cyrillic alphabet.

Money matters.

Russia uses the ruble. You’ll need local currency for small vendors and incidentals. In major centres and aboard, U.S. dollars are accepted. Larger retailers and some artisans also accept credit cards.

For the all-important tipping, set aside the appropriate denominations in advance to avoid the nightmare of trying to make change along the way. Your travel professional can provide guidance for appropriate tipping.

Vodka tastings are a highlight.

While Russian Standard is probably the Russian vodka you’re most likely to see on liquor store shelves back home, there are hundreds of Russian vodkas to taste and enjoy, including the popular Beluga Noble and Mamont.

Russian caviar is pricey but for foodies is a must-have culinary souvenir [Irene Seiberling and Marlon Marshall]

Russian cuisine is delicious.

Kudos to on-board Chef Danilo Mielke, who created a wonderful array of regional specialty offerings for Viking Truvor guests, in addition to the generous variety of menu options catering to different palates.

Russian soups run the gamut, from borscht featuring beef broth and beets, to charcho, a classic Georgian soup with rice and cilantro. Or, perhaps try krakovskaya as a first course — Russian sausage with potatoes and onions.

Russian main dishes include everything from pojarsky koteletti, a pork and chicken meat loaf in a crisp crust, to kulebyaka, a puff pasty stuffed with salmon and spinach, in a white wine sauce.

Among the desserts served were sirniki, Russian curd blinis with strawberry mélange, and Russian honey cake.

Dress for success.

Russia is not in the tropics, so pack accordingly. Dress in layers to accommodate varying conditions. Do yourself a favour and be sure to pack comfortable walking shoes. Your feet will thank you, especially during walking tours over uneven ground or cobblestones.

Maximize your time via shore excursions.

If this is your first, and perhaps your only trip to Russia, you’ll want to take in as much as possible. Organized shore excursions can help enhance your experience, ensuring you don’t miss any must-see highlights. The only drawback is there never seems to be enough time for shopping or exploring on your own.

Crystal Cruises’ Crystal Endeavor []

Travel highlights abound.

St. Petersburg is considered Russia’s most beautiful city, featuring 42 islands, 66 canals and hundreds of bridges.

Moscow, Russia’s capital, is a buzzing metropolis. Must-sees include Red Square, located in the heart of the city, the iconic domes of St. Basil’s Cathedral, and the 800-year-old Kremlin, which some will be surprised to discover isn’t just one building but a walled fortress within the city.

Scenic cruising and visits to small villages are a real treat. Exploring places like Mandrogy, Kizhi, Kuzino, Yaroslavl and Uglich provide an interesting view of Russia and its people.

What should you buy in Russia?

Vodka, of course, is a perfect souvenir.

Of course, you must come back with some sort of matryoshka. If the traditional hand-painted wooden dolls aren’t to your taste, there are sports and political figures available, too. Maybe consider a Trump and Putin pair, so they can glare at each other on your tabletop.

If the traditional hand-painted wooden dolls aren’t to your taste … maybe consider a Trump and Putin pair, so they can glare at each other on your tabletop.

Another authentic Russian item is a container of black or red caviar. It’s not cheap, but for a true gourmet it will no doubt be worth every ruble.

In the market for a furry winter hat? The classic ushanka is available everywhere from big stores in major Russian cities to street vendors outside popular tourist attractions.

How much do you know about Russia?

Did you know that St. Petersburg used to be called Leningrad and that Russia’s equivalent of the Louvre in Paris is the Hermitage museum of art and culture in St. Petersburg? The name of Moscow’s famous department store is GUM. The country’s most famous poet is Pushkin. And the most famous Soviet cartoon character is Chaburashka.

]]>http://o.canada.com/travel/russia-not-just-vodka-and-nesting-dolls/feed1Russia 2postmedianews1Red SquareRussian caviarCrystal Cruises' Crystal Endeavor Carnival gets it right with Horizonhttp://o.canada.com/travel/ports-and-bows/carnival-gets-it-right-with-horizon
http://o.canada.com/travel/ports-and-bows/carnival-gets-it-right-with-horizon#commentsWed, 02 May 2018 20:34:47 +0000http://o.canada.com/?p=767703BARCELONA, Spain — When I stepped aboard the 3,960-guest Carnival Horizon for a week-long Mediterranean cruise, I expected a lot from Carnival Cruise Line’s (latest ship. Her predecessor, Carnival Vista, substantially redefined the Carnival cruise experience when she debuted in 2016. As I walked off the gangway and into Carnival Horizon’s atrium, with its Dreamscape sculpture made up of over 2,000 digital LED panels, it became clear that Carnival hasn’t just made a Vista clone: it has quite possibly launched its most elaborate ship ever.

Throughout Carnival Horizon, improvements both subtle and obvious have been made. The Piano Bar 88 — always a hugely popular area on any Carnival ship — has been given a crimson-hued decor and a new location. It is now situated next to the sumptuous Fahrenheit 555 Steakhouse, where an open wall partition allows nightly tunes to entertain diners as they enjoy their meal. After 10 p.m., the wall partition slides shut with the push of a button, and the Piano Bar becomes the lively, adult-only space that past guests know and love.

Carnival’s iconic RedFrog Pub is gone, replaced instead with Guy’s Pig & Anchor Bar-B-Que Smokehouse, a new venue developed in part with television food celebrity Guy Fieri. It’s hard to tell what’s better here: the pseudo-gritty pub decor, the authentic smoked food (the smokers are right outside on the promenade deck), or the four new craft beers, brewed right onboard. Carnival employs a full-time brewmaster to oversee the whole process. Sea day lunch is complimentary, and evenings offer a reasonably priced à la carte menu of savoury delights. Try the smokehouse cocktail list, too: the bacon-infused Manhattan received worthy buzz, and I kept coming back for the Smoked Boulevardier with its bourbon, Campari, sweet vermouth and rosemary smoke.

Also new: Bonsai Teppanyaki, which takes up a small space next to Bonsai Sushi. This interactive cooking experience is as much about the flair as the food, with chefs that prepare dishes on a Japanese hibachi grill station. A meal here will set you back about $25-$30 (or $40 — I ordered one of the Japanese-inspired cocktails), but the food was top-notch and the experience memorable.

Of course, there are plenty of other complementary food venues on board, from the ship’s truly classy main dining rooms to the casual Lido Marketplace buffet; the BlueIguana Cantina; Guy’s Burger Joint; and of course, the 24-hour Pizzeria del Capitano.

For families, Carnival Horizon is a knockout. Like Carnival Vista, dedicated Family Harbor staterooms and suites offer up more room and amenities for families travelling together, including access to an exclusive lounge just for families and a free night of babysitting for those with little ones.

Kids are also going to love the new Dr. Seuss WaterWorks, with its Cat in the Hat-esque waterslides and splash park. It’s the latest expansion in Carnival’s partnership with Dr. Seuss Enterprises — which includes the wonderful Dr. Seuss Bookville that encourages kids to read, and the whimsical Seuss-themed parade through the ship that ends with storytime in the main lounge.

This is all in addition to a full-sized Imax theatre; the SkyRide and ropes course on the upper deck; a full roster of new production shows; a poolside movie screen; and dedicated, adults-only venues like the soothing Serenity Deck and the Cloud 9 Spa, with its thermal suite and thalassotherapy pool.

The most talked-about on-board feature, interestingly, were the destination-based elevators manufactured by Schindler. Rather than pressing buttons in an elevator, you select your destination from a touch-panel in the lobby and you are then directed to an elevator car going to that deck. It’s fast — and it’s easy.

Carnival has assembled the dream team aboard Carnival Horizon, with Capt. Luigi De Angelis and hotel director Pierre Camilleri bringing decades of experience to their respective departments. From the top down, every team member aboard Carnival Horizon is quick with a smile, unfailingly polite and eager to ensure you’re having the trip of a lifetime.

By the time you read this, Carnival Horizon will have left the Mediterranean, bound for her new home ports in New York and Miami. But it doesn’t really matter where she sails to.

This is the rare ship that gets it all right.

Happy cruising.

Portsandbows.com, sponsored by Expedia CruiseShipCenters, 1-800-410-4744,www.cruise.center, for daily updates on the latest cruise news, best deals and behind-the-scenes stories from the industry. You can also sign up for an email newsletter on the site for even more cruise information. Aaron Saunders may be contacted directly at portsandbowsaaron@gmail.com

]]>http://o.canada.com/travel/ports-and-bows/carnival-gets-it-right-with-horizon/feed1ftdc_carnivalhorizon-0307aaronpsaundersGlobal Voices: Recycling should be last resort — don’t forget the two other Rshttp://o.canada.com/life/global-voices-recycling-should-be-last-resort-dont-forget-the-two-other-rs
http://o.canada.com/life/global-voices-recycling-should-be-last-resort-dont-forget-the-two-other-rs#commentsTue, 01 May 2018 06:20:58 +0000http://o.canada.com/?p=767630On the River Thames, a boat made of plastic bottles sets out on an unusual fishing expedition. The students on board are from Canary Wharf College in London, England, and they aren’t in search of seafood.

They’re collecting trash.

When they’ve hooked enough, the young eco-crusaders will build another boat to catch and sort even more garbage for disposal. Maybe they were inspired by Queen Elizabeth, who has banned plastic straws and bottles from Buckingham Palace.

Canadians could learn from our Commonwealth partners.

It’s true there’s nary a household here without a blue box. Unfortunately, we treat recycle bins like magician’s hats: drop in the plastic and hope it disappears. That consumer attitude has worked for most of us, until recently. China declared in January that it would no longer buy our recycling — the country has for decades purchased about 20 per cent of plastic waste collected by Canadian municipalities annually.

It means your takeout containers won’t be “disappearing” overseas anymore, as municipalities struggle to find new buyers to handle our recyclables. Now plastic and paper are piling up on our doorstep.

We all tend to feel self-righteous when we recycle, but it’s supposed to be a last resort. Remember the other two Rs you were taught as a child? Reducing and reusing are the first and ideal steps to decreasing waste.

We all tend to feel self-righteous when we recycle, but it’s supposed to be a last resort.

Start with your morning ritual. Disposable toothbrushes are a huge source of waste. Don’t give Mother Earth a cavity; switch to biodegradable bamboo toothbrushes — and help reduce the more than 15,000 tonnes of plastic brushes trashed every year.

Don’t forget to put out the garbage before work. Instead of lining the kitchen bin with store-bought bags made of new plastic, reuse the old bags (we know every household has a drawer full). That’s just one of the many second lives for plastic bags. Use them to pack away fragile valuables, stuff pillows, or protect the fruit on your backyard apple tree from bugs.

Lunch rolls around and you head to the sandwich shop. You spot a new kind of soft drink in a chic black plastic bottle. Skip it! Coloured plastic other than clear, blue or green is much harder to recycle.

Your spouse reminds you to pick up groceries on the way home. Fortunately, you’ve got your trusty re-usable grocery bags. Just don’t fill them with more plastic. Does every fruit really need its own tiny bag? And, apps like Bulk Finder will search for stores in your area that sell in bulk.

Before dinner, it’s time for a spot of housekeeping. You can clean just about anything with basic natural ingredients like baking soda and vinegar. Find recipes online and skip the expensive cleaners in their plastic bottles.

Looking for an evening activity with the kids? Channel your inner MacGyver and find a creative project for the contents of your recycle bin: soda bottle solar lamps, gumball machines made of plastic cups, or baskets made of woven drinking straws. If you hit on a really great idea, make a bunch and sell them to raise money for charity.

You don’t have to build a boat from bottles to make a difference. But you can be creative in your own way — and you might just earn a royal seal of approval.

Craig and Marc Kielburger are the co-founders of the WE movement, which includes WE Charity, ME to WE Social Enterprise and WE Day. For more dispatches from WE, check out WE Stories.

“You don’t need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows,” Bob Dylan sang. But these days, a guide through the seemingly endless flurry of pop culture offerings is just what we need. With that in mind, here is what’s on the radar screen in TV, music and film for the coming week.

MOVIES

Big release on May 4: Overboard.

Big picture: Remember 1987, when it was OK to make a movie about a man out for revenge who pretends an uptight, amoral rich woman with amnesia is his wife — even though he knows her real identify — and takes her home to play house? Yes, the original Overboard could have been scripted as a horror movie. But the charming chemistry of Kurt Russell and Goldie Hawn somehow made it work as a rom-com.

Flash forward to 2018 for this oddball choice for a remake, in which Anna Faris plays the Kurt Russell character and Eugenio Derbez plays a bastard of a billionaire who forgets himself — only to be taken home by a fake wife to a fake working-class life. (Still creepy, Hollywood — even with the gender reversal. And still kidnapping.)

Who knew falling of a yacht, hitting your head and getting amnesia is all it takes to become a good human being? (Speaking of which … Is anyone out there willing to take Trump out on a yacht trip?)

Forecast: “I work?” Derbez’s exasperated character exclaims at one point. You did. In 1987.

Carol Burnett [The Associated Press]

TV

Big events: Anon (Netflix, May 4); A Little Help with Carol Burnett (Netflix, May 4).

Big picture: Clive Owen and Amanda Seyfried star in Netflix’s original movie Anon, in which privacy and anonymity have been destroyed by technology — and crime is non-existent. That is, until someone learns how to hack into people’s minds. It’s like The Matrix meets Inception meets Hackers meets The Adjustment Bureau. (It’s also basically a long episode of Black Mirror.)

Owen plays a detective who realizes his reality and memories are being hacked. Seyfried plays a “master editor” with the skill to erase people, memories, herself and more.

“Who could hack a human being?” Owen asks after one such dramatic privacy breach. (Damn it, Hollywood! Do you really need to give our social media CEOs any new, dangerous ideas?)

“If you can’t believe your eyes, the system doesn’t work,” this flick tells us. Ponder that the next time you read your news feed.

Meanwhile, Carol Burnett’s new show is essential Netflix’s take on Kids Say the Darndest Things. Tune in to see carefully chosen straight-shooting kids (aged five to nine) dish out words of wisdom and their fair share of barbs at adult celebrities.

Forecast: Anon is set in the not-so-distant, believable future. On the bright side, if this movie is prescient, at least people who see the Overboard remake can have their memories erased.

Leon Bridges draws from a variety of influences on his new album Good Thing [Montreal Gazette]

Big Picture: Gospel, soul and R&B — all delivered perfectly. Leon Bridges’ debut album Coming Home was pure magic. His sophomore effort, Good Thing proves he still has more tricks up his sleeve. The ’60s-infused soul heard all over his debut jumps ahead a few decades. The sound is also slicker and more modern, but Bridges is still a throwback to an era when voices and talent mattered most and performances couldn’t be fixed by Auto Tune and a parade of editing suites.

Meanwhile, Eleanor needs no rebound. The Fiery Furnaces songstress continues an underrated career as a solo artist. Synths and guitar drive her compelling vocals as she deftly touches on rock, rockabilly, folk, disco and electro-pop.

Also, experimental electronic band Black Moth Super Rainbow release the album Panic Blooms, which is worth mentioning only because it gets my vote for best band name ever created randomly during a drunken Scrabble game.

“It might be best for you to see it, so I’m going to talk about bass fishing, OK?”

That was Chris Pratt’s response to a typically geeky question at a star-studded news conference for Avengers: Infinity War on Sunday. Pratt, who returns to the big screen on Friday as Peter Quill/ Star-Lord in the sprawling Marvel Universe mash-up was asked something about how his character feels about seeing humans for the first time in 30 years.

As promised, Pratt proceeded to discuss his bass-fishing preferences rather than risk anything that might be construed as a spoiler for the next Avengers blockbuster, which is being hyped as an era-closing culmination of 10 years of Marvel Universe films. Of course, as of Sunday’s press conference, virtually no one had seen the finished film, neither the gathered press nor most of the cast on stage.

Its red carpet prèmiere was more than 24 hours away. Which all lead to the surreal spectacle of 21 of the Marvel Universe’s biggest movies stars, plus directors Joe and Anthony Russo and Marvel Studios head honcho Kevin Feige, struggling to discuss a film they couldn’t discuss and trying to answer questions they couldn’t answer. Granted, they didn’t try very hard.

“I haven’t seen the movie, don’t know anything about the movie, don’t know anything about the storyline, haven’t read the script, haven’t read one of the fake scripts,” said Dave Bautista, the former professional wrestler and fellow Guardians of the Galaxy alumni who returns as the fearsome Drax in Avengers: Infinity War.

Mark Ruffalo, left, Robert Downey Jr., and Tom Hiddleston are among a staggering number of A-list actors in Avengers: Infinity War []

What little we do know about the story is that it focuses on the ultimate Marvel Universe villain Thanos (Josh Brolin), and his attempts to gather six magical “Infinity Stones,” which have unimaginable power and will presumably put earth and other parts of the universe in peril should they fall into his over-large hands.

Since he is far too big a threat for one team of superheroes to handle, the fractured Avengers (including Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man, Mark Ruffalo as the Hulk, Chris Hemsworth as Thor, Scarlett Johansson as Black Widow, Paul Bettany as Vision, Elisabeth Olsen as Scarlett Witch, Anthony Mackie as Falcon, and Don Cheadle as War Machine), will apparently be joined by Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch), Spider-Man (Tom Holland), the Guardians of the Galaxy (Star-Lord, Drax, Zoe Saldana as Gamora, Pom Klementieff as Mantis), and Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman), and his crew from Wakanda (Letitia Wright as Shuri, Winston Duke as M’Baku, Danai Gurira as Okoye) for the epic battle.

In an earlier interview with Postmedia, screenwriters Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely confirmed that few of the actors had actually read the screenplay all the way through. The secrecy over plot points has led to a good deal of speculation among bloggers and other members of the press.

Some of it has focused on the fate of Captain America, who had a falling out with Tony Stark/Iron Man in 2016’s Captain America: Civil War. Actor Chris Evans, who sports a beard in Avengers: Infinity War and was conspicuously absent from Sunday’s conference, has said he wants to retire his Captain America after Infinity War’s 2019 as-yet untitled Avengers sequel.

The secrecy over plot points has led to a good deal of speculation among bloggers and other members of the press.

Perhaps aware that the actors assembled on stage were unable to reveal much about anything, the Marvel/Disney organizers of Sunday’s press conference gave it even more of a game-show vibe than normal. Actor Jeff Goldblum, who played the amusing Grandmaster in Thor: Ragnorak, was enlisted to moderate the festivities.

That entailed him spinning a hopper full of balls as a way of setting up how the actors could be questioned. Each ball had a question or name of an actor the press could then address. To add to the carnivalesque atmosphere, Goldblum also took to throwing the balls around the room, even managing to accidentally bean a not-entirely-amused Robert Downey Jr. on the head at one point.

A somewhat baffled Scarlett Johansson was earnestly asked to comment on the Avengers’ “fashion elements” at one point (“I got the fashion question!? I honestly don’t know how to answer that question. I wear a leather unitard for most of this film and have been for the past 10 years,” she said). Anthony Mackie had the best line of the afternoon when asked what it was like to “struggle” for screen time amid all the other superheroes.

“A wise man once said ‘Some men need an hour to make their presence felt, some men need 30 seconds,’” he said.

Was that a hint? Who knows. It became clear fairly early on that the stars were unable or unwilling or both to reveal too much about what is likely the most anticipated superhero movie of all time.

The closest to any concrete information we got was from Downey, the actor who was there at the very beginning of the whole overlapping Marvel Universe phenomenon in 2008’s Iron Man. He was simply asked if he would be appearing in the fourth instalment of the Avengers, which has already been filmed.

“You never know,” he said. “I’m going to see it on the screen tomorrow. If I die tomorrow, I’m going to be confused.”

Consider screenwriters Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely as they set about the daunting task of writing Avengers: Infinity War, described as a final chapter in 10 years of mega-budgeted superhero stories over 19 films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, or MCU.

It has more than 20 main characters from different worlds, making for a tangled web of seemingly conflicting tones, egos, actors and plots. Sure, there was overlap before, but imagine attempting to create a cohesive mash-up of the Guardians of the Galaxy films, the Thor films, the Avengers films, the Captain America films, the Doctor Strange film, the Spider-Man films and the Black Panther film.

It turns out the formula, at least initially, was somewhat straightforward for a movie with a budget rumoured to be as high as $400 million. It began with a list.

“We had a wall of character names,” says Markus, in an interview alongside McFeely with Postmedia in Los Angeles the day before the red-carpet première of Infinity War. “It was literally everyone who was accessible in the MCU. We would say ‘I’d like to see Rocket talk to that guy, or I’d like to see that guy talk to that guy.’ We had a list of just fun pairings and a list of people who, just story-wise, were going to need to come together at some point on a momentum level and also people who just cancelled eachother out.”

“Strange alchemy is what we called it,” McFeely says.

The two writers are MCU veterans.They’ve written the three Captain America films and Thor: The Dark World. They also wrote the as-yet untitled fourth Avengers movie, already been filmed.

Thanos (Josh Brolin), the greatest villain in the Marvel Universe is the narrative centrepiece for Avengers: Infinity War [Marvel]

“We spent a lot of time blue-skying what it means to have all these characters and what story could accommodate that,” McFeely says. “So you’re not doing 25 people moving from room to room having conversations and suddenly some Oscar winner hasn’t spoken in 20 minutes.

“So we try to come up with a story that was simple enough but could weave simple plots together. It will look complex as a whole, but each individual plot is pretty straightforward and is based on one guy coming to take your stuff.”

The mixed reviews have started rolling in for Infinity War, directed by filmmaking brothers Anthony and Joe Russo. “The guy coming to take your stuff” is Thanos (Josh Brolin), a hulking, purple supervillain determined to collect a batch of magical “Infinity stones” to gain ultimate power.

This pits him against a hastily assembled team of superheroes including Iron Man, the Hulk, Thor, Captain America, Black Widow, Doctor Strange, Spider-Man, the entire gang from Guardians of the Galaxy, and Black Panther and his Wakanda crew.

That’s a lot of heroes, and it doesn’t even include 10 or so hangers-on and sidekicks along for the ride. Clearly, to justify this force, Thanos needed to be a formidable foe.

“He’s the greatest villain in the Marvel universe,” McFeely says. “That’s a high bar. Certainly some are better than others, but the ones that are good are really good. He’s powerful, he’s relentless, he sympathetic to a degree and I think that’s going to surprise people. People are going to be drawn to him and feel guilty that they are drawn to him.”

“He’s the greatest villain in the Marvel universe … People are going to be drawn to him and feel guilty that they are drawn to him.”

It’s fun to speculate what may have happened if the upcoming Fox-Disney $52.4-billion mega-merger, announced in December, had occurred a few years ago. The deal would theoretically allow Fox’s Marvel characters such as the X-Men and Deadpool to be integrated with those currently in the Marvel universe, such as Black Panther and Spider-Man and the Avengers. As veteran Marvel scribes, could Markus and McFeely foresee a project when the Wolverine and Deadpool, for instance, start hanging out with Tony Stark?

Both seem legitimately relieved they don’t have to worry about it for now.

“I imagine if and when Marvel does actually get their hands on these characters, they are going to recast them,” Markus says. “So who would you put in this movie? A guy who just happens to have claws and isn’t Hugh Jackman? Then you’re casting the world’s most important character and really not putting the thought into it: ‘Hey, that guy has mutton chops!’”

As for the fourth instalment of Avengers, set for release just over a year from now, Markus and McFeely say it shouldn’t be considered Part II of Infinity War.

“We intend them to be very different experiences,” McFeely says. “They are practically different genres, I’ll tell you that. It will feel that way. We don’t want — and certainly other movies have been accused of this — to tell one big story, cut it in half, and steal your money.”

]]>http://o.canada.com/entertainment/movies/avengers-infinity-war-writers-battle-with-abundance-of-superheroes/feed0Christopher Markus, left, and Stephen McFeelypostmedianews1Film Review Avengers Infinity WarGlobal Voices: Closing the gender wage gaphttp://o.canada.com/life/global-voices-closing-the-gender-wage-gap
http://o.canada.com/life/global-voices-closing-the-gender-wage-gap#respondTue, 24 Apr 2018 06:12:44 +0000http://o.canada.com/?p=767543When news broke that Mark Walhberg was paid 100 times more than his co-star Michelle Williams to reshoot scenes from All the Money in the World, the response was swift. Headlines blared ‘unequal pay for equal work,’ holding it up as a shining example of the gender wage gap problem.

We’ve known about this problem for decades— so why haven’t we solved it yet?

One of our favourite business mottos is – you cannot change what you do not measure. It applies as much to running an efficient business as it does to improving gender equity in the workplace. That’s why we’ve watched closely as companies in the United Kingdom published women’s and men’s wages in line with new transparency legislation.

Unfortunately, we weren’t surprised by the results.

Over 1,000 companies treated the law like a freshman essay, waiting until the last days to submit their report. Another 1,000 didn’t submit data at all. Of those who did, eight in 10 companies owned up to paying men more than women — with some reporting a gap of over 70 per cent.

This data is a first step to tackling the problem — and that’s where Canada has something to learn.

The most in-depth reporting of its kind anywhere in the world, the numbers reveal just how male dominated the highest — and best-paid—levels of most organizations are. “What we’re seeing is job segregation,” explains Sarah Kaplan, director of the Institute for Gender and the Economy at the Rotman School of Business. “Yes, there is a one-to-one pay gap, but there’s also a [gender] leadership gap.”

“It’s impossible to fight for equal pay if you don’t know what your coworkers are earning.”

Ontario and Quebec have long had some of the strongest pay equity laws on the books. But laws don’t do much when over half of Canadian companies flout them, according to Fay Faraday, co-chair of Ontario Equal Pay Coalition. “We have these laws but we also have widespread noncompliance,” says Faraday.

The problem is that the Canadian system is missing one vital component – pay transparency.

“It’s impossible to fight for equal pay if you don’t know what your coworkers are earning,” Faraday says.

As it stands, the onus is on employees to file a complaint to enforce their rights if they feel they are being discriminated against. For many workers, that comes with fear of reprisals.

Bucking the trend, some tech giants in Canada have begun annual self-reporting as part of the Up the Numbers initiative. Soon, they will be joined by many others as the federal government has promised to bring in pay transparency legislation, compelling companies under its jurisdiction to disclose wages. A recent poll found that nearly three quarters of Canadians are ready for that change.

Only when companies and organizations start to monitor their hiring and salary practices seriously will we begin to move the needle and finally close the gap.

There are many steps needed to create gender equity in the workplace. Flexible working hours, better child-care policies and tackling subconscious biases in hiring and promotions will help a generation of women reach higher in their careers than those that came before them.

“You don’t need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows,” Bob Dylan sang. But these days, a guide through the seemingly endless flurry of pop culture offerings is just what we need. With that in mind, here is what’s on the radar screen in TV, music and film for the coming week.

MOVIES

Big release (April 27): Avengers: Infinity War.

Big picture: Marvel continues its seemingly infinite war on your pocketbook. This blockbuster essentially unites every character in the Marvel universe (minus the X-Men) to battle Thanos, an intergalactic thug who plans to use six Infinity Stones — imagine “one ring to rule them all” only six of them — to reshape the universe according to his twisted whims.

Given the amount of screen time the Guardians of the Galaxy seem to get in this superhero crossover — Thanos (Josh Brolin) is Gamora’s dad, after all — one wonders whether they should have received top billing instead of the Avengers. The action sequences and CGI will captivate — as usual — but the real trick for the directors is balancing the scene-stealing charisma of the likes of Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), Star-Lord (Chris Pratt) and Spider-Man (Tom Holland). As Gamora (Zoe Saldana) puts it about her old man, “The entire time I knew him, he only ever had one goal: to wipeout half the universe.” (Ivanka: you may want to borrow that line for your future biography).

Forecast: Dr. Strange, Black Panther, The Hulk, Groot, Captain America, Ant-Man … the hero list in this one is endless and the running time is nearly “infinity.” Just wait until Disney inevitably buys the rights to the X-Men characters. Then the average Marvel movie will be five hours long.

The Handmaid’s Tale [Bravo/Bell]

TV

Big events: The Handmaid’s Tale (April 29, Bravo).

Big picture: We move beyond Margaret Atwood’s famous novel in season 2 of this award-winning series. After a two-episode premiere, fans can look forward to 11 more episodes set in the dark, dystopian world of Gilead.

Season 2 finds a pregnant Offred (Elisabeth Moss) battling for the rights of her future child; and she is not alone in standing up to the regime. New cast members include Clea DuVall, Cherry Jones and Bradley Whitford.

Big picture: In an ever-crowded field of competition, soulful songstress Monáe makes the case for being the most talented woman in the music industry — and the heir to Prince while infused with healthy, creative doses of everyone from Michael Jackson and Nina Simone to Aretha Franklin. Monae’s single, Make me Feel, makes a strong case for song of the year.

Meanwhile, country crooner Keith Urban has a poor rationale for his new album title: “I was toying with the letter U,” Urban told Rolling Stone Country. “Obviously, it’s the first letter of my last name, but I liked that when you say it, it’s also the word ‘you.’” Thanks, Keith. Keep those “deep thoughts” to yourself next time, buddy.

For a rare thing — uplifting, joyful indie rock! — take a plunge in Okkervil River. And finally, Nelson, who turns 85 on April 29, is an aging outlaw who just can’t seem to holster his weapon of choice: music. (Better U, than him, Keith.)

Forecast: Monáe will make you feel like dancing — at least until Thanos comes to destroy us all.

For U.S. novelist Meg Wolitzer, there was an inevitability in her decision to walk in last year’s Women’s March on Washington, one of many that day across the U.S. and around the world. It just seemed the right thing to do.

“It was such a powerful day,” Wolitzer says. Talking about it now, she’s clearly affected by the memory of being part of that historic event. “Even then, I knew I would always think about that day. It was very moving to me not to be alone in my feelings.”

At the time, she was in the final stages of a new novel covering four decades of the feminist revolution — fortuitous timing, one might say. But there was no way Wolitzer could have known back then that the publication of her novel The Female Persuasion would also be coinciding so dramatically with the formidable arrival of the #MeToo movement. Indeed, the 58-year-old writer, a frequent presence on The New York Times bestseller list, gently disclaims any special prescience on her part despite Time magazine’s suggestion that she has shrewdly played “the woman’s card.”

“It’s true that this book is landing at a moment when the issues it discusses happen to be more widely discussed in the world,” she says. “But these are not new issues. I’ve been thinking about them for a long time, and I started writing this book a few years ago. But yes, it is landing at this strange time.”

Wolitzer’s own deep-rooted feminism is not rose-coloured. The Female Persuasion offers a panoramic view of social history, but the players on Wolitzer’s fictional stage don’t give us unblemished perfection. Indeed, one key character, introduced to us as a feminist icon, proves to have feet of clay as she compromises her own principles for what she believes is a greater good.

A crowd rallies for the Women’s March in Austin, Texas [The Associated Press]

“Imperfection is my specialty,”Wolitzer says robustly. “People aren’t superheroes, not even people who are charismatic leaders. You try very hard not to write a tract, not to write a treatise. This isn’t a book about how women betray each other, but there are betrayals because people are human.”

One betrayal involves the fate of an ordinary letter. Wolitzer, an author able to conjure suspense out of the most unlikely situations, wasn’t initially sure what would happen with the letter, but she relished the opportunity to keep readers on tenterhooks until she made up her mind.

“Novelists are kind of like a lesser god,” she says, teasingly. “They have powers they can use, and I like that!”

Early readers have been playing guessing games about possible real-life inspirations for key characters. A feminist icon named Faith Frank, still charismatic and elegant at 63, is one of the most powerfully drawn people in the novel — but no, she is definitely not based on the legendary Gloria Steinem, although some readers insist she is.

“There is only one Gloria Steinem,” Wolitzer says firmly. “But I want to live in a world in which there are a lot of famous feminists, so I decided to create another one. Faith is a powerful, charismatic, sexy figure — and my own invention.”

Gloria Steinem, centre right, greets protesters before speaking at the Women’s March on Washington in January 2017 [The Associated Press]

Wolitzer is also astonished that anyone might see Donald Trump in the character of a chauvinistic tycoon who plays a surprising role in Faith’s drive to power.

“Trump?” she says with a laugh. “Oh boy — I wouldn’t dream of putting him in a book. I wouldn’t want to. But in a novel that’s trying to deal with power, you’re going to see certain types of behaviour that will be familiar.”

Early in the novel, Wolitzer provides Faith with a zinger of a speech in which she says she keeps meeting young women who say: “I’m not a feminist, but…” Then Faith explains what they’re really saying: “I don’t call myself a feminist, but I want equal pay, and I want to have equal relationships with men, and of course I want to have an equal right to sexual pleasure, I want to have a fair and good life. I don’t want to be held back because I’m a woman.”

That speech has a dramatic effect on a young female student named Greer. She could be a poster child for #MeToo: She has been groped by a frat boy and found herself helpless to do anything about it; she dislikes her college; she is soured on her world. And then Faith enters her life, offering an escape from a dreaded future. Greer ends up as a speechwriter for a woman she worships.

“Greer is complicated and unlikable in some ways,” Wolitzer says. “She’s searching for something and doesn’t quite know what it is.”

“Greer is complicated and unlikable in some ways,” Wolitzer says. “She’s searching for something and doesn’t quite know what it is.”

As the novel moves back and forth in time, other important players emerge. There’s Greer’s boyfriend Cory — “he’s very smart and funny and dear and also wants meaning in his life in a different way.” And there’s best friend Zee, who is gay and driven by a burning social conscience and an idea of service rather than fame.

“I wanted to write about female power — who has it, who wants it,” Wolitzer says, adding she also wanted to examine manifestations of that power, “some celebrity-driven, others more quiet.”

She was also seized by the idea of writing about a seasoned veteran of the feminist wars showing a younger woman the way, while also acknowledging the fault lines in both. And for Wolitzer, who started exploring the female experience with her very first novel, Sleepwalking, written while she was still an undergraduate, even the rockiest of roads can be worth travelling.

“The way can be harder for women, depending on when they live and what they’re trying to do, on how they live and where they live — all that, along with the obstacles that come up like sexual harassment,” she says.

“But I realized early on that if this was going to work as a book, the ideas couldn’t be bigger than the characters. They really needed to live in this membrane I’d created.”

It was about this time six years ago that I stood on the pier in Amsterdam, on a cold and blustery Dutch day, and watched as Viking Cruises launch its first set of Viking Longship riverboats. The 190-passenger Viking Odin and her three sisters were total game-changers; no one company had ever designed anything like them before, and passengers were immediately taken with their charming, Scandinavian-inspired decor, excellent service, and quality cuisine.

In 2013, Viking gathered us all in a ballroom at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Los Angeles to unveil its newest creation: plans for a 930-guest oceangoing cruise ship known as Viking Star. It set sail on its maiden voyage in 2015 and, to this day, is the most beautiful cruise ship I’ve ever seen.

Viking now boasts a fleet of Viking Longships and oceangoing vessels. In addition to Viking Star, Viking Sea, Viking Sky and Viking Sun, the new Viking Orion is set to debut this summer, launching in the Mediterranean and slated to be christened by NASA Astronaut Dr. Anna Fisher.

Now, more good news is on the horizon: Viking plans to build six additional oceangoing ships between 2024 and 2027. That’s on top of the three as-yet-unnamed vessels Viking already has under construction with Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri, slated for launch between 2019 and 2021.

“When we launched our first ocean ship in 2015, we set out to reinvent ocean cruising. We focus on the destination, and we do not cram our ships with gimmicks and waterslides. Our understated, elegant, award-winning ships are designed to simply enable our guests to better explore their destination,” said Viking River Cruises chairman Torstein Hagen.

If you’ve read this column before, I don’t have to tell you what a huge fan I am of Viking’s oceangoing ships. While they’re not for everyone (you won’t, for example, find a casino, rock climbing wall or other onboard distractions) they’re great for folks who want a ship that harks back to the more classic elements of cruising. There’s a focus on informative lectures, multiple live musical performances each night, not to mention excellent food. Books line the shelves of every public room, inviting guests to learn about famous explorers, influential people and far-off destinations. As well, Nordic motifs and traditions form the personality of these wonderful ocean cruisers, which feature an incredible amount of space for each of the 930 guests on board.

So why is this a big deal? Because with each new ship that Viking introduces, the company is able to expand into new destinations and increase sailings to the most popular ones, such as its 15-day Into the Midnight Sun itinerary that sails from Bergen, Norway to London (Greenwich), England or reverse.

Viking obviously has a huge presence in Northern Europe and the Mediterranean, with some great transatlantic crossings linking these seasons with winters in North America (for a real adventure, hop aboard in Bergen and sail all the way to Montreal with the 15-day In the Wake of the Vikings itinerary that departs on Sept.8 and Sept. 22).

Viking is also expanding into new areas. This winter, for instance, Viking sails its inaugural season throughout Asia, and next year, Viking Orion sails across the Pacific and into Vancouver to mark her cruise debut into Alaska.

Of course, the river side of things isn’t being neglected, either. Once you spend seven days cruising down the quiet length of the Danube or the Rhine, you’ll quickly see why river cruises are one of the hottest types of vacations around. Most guests — myself included — are repeat river cruisers, lured by the relaxing nature of the voyage as much as the sights to be seen in the vibrant cities and small towns that line the way.

Viking has a few new river-cruise itineraries out for this year and next, including the eight-day Rhone Explorer that leaves roundtrip from Lyon, France; and the 10-day Holland and Belgium in Bloom that runs between Amsterdam and Antwerp on a picturesque spring tour of the Low Countries.

More ships means more itineraries — and that, in turn, means more opportunities for folks like you and me to go exploring.

Happy cruising.

Portsandbows.com, sponsored by Expedia CruiseShipCenters, 1-800-410-4744,www.cruise.center, for daily updates on the latest cruise news, best deals and behind-the-scenes stories from the industry. You can also sign up for an email newsletter on the site for even more cruise information. Aaron Saunders may be contacted directly at portsandbowsaaron@gmail.com

]]>http://o.canada.com/travel/ports-and-bows/by-ocean-or-river-viking-fleets-keep-on-growing/feed00408 trav ftdc_vikingsky_tromso-0195.jpgaaronpsaundersSymphony of the Seas set to make big waves for maiden seasonhttp://o.canada.com/travel/ports-and-bows/symphony-of-the-seas-set-to-make-big-waves-for-maiden-season
http://o.canada.com/travel/ports-and-bows/symphony-of-the-seas-set-to-make-big-waves-for-maiden-season#respondWed, 18 Apr 2018 22:01:46 +0000http://o.canada.com/?p=767512

It’s official: Royal Caribbean has, once again, introduced the world’s largest cruise ship.

The 228,000-gross ton Symphony of the Seas, which is 362 metres end-to-end and spans over 16 decks in height, set out on her maiden cruise from Barcelona on April 7 on a week-long jaunt through the warm waters of the Mediterranean. Capable of carrying up to a maximum of 6,680 guests, she is the largest cruise ship in the world by tonnage and passenger capacity.

The fourth Oasis-class ship to debut following the introduction of Oasis of the Seas back in 2009, Symphony of the Seas isn’t a mere copy of her sisters. Indeed, Royal Caribbean has set out to build a ship that wows guests at every turn, even going so far as to declare Symphony of the Seas, “The World’s Most Instagrammable Ship.”

Whether you think that’s a good thing — and whether Symphony of the Seas is right for you — is largely up to your personal preferences. To be sure, a ship carrying nearly 7,000 passengers and a crew of 2,200 isn’t for everyone.

What Royal Caribbean has always excelled at, however, is pushing the envelope on what is possible on an ocean-going ship. The company has been doing this since its earliest days, with innovations like soaring atriums, observation lounges that wrapped around the ship’s funnel (remember the Viking Crown Lounge?), and outdoor diversions like rock climbing walls, flowrider surfing simulators, and even an indoor skating rink.

It’s easy to dismiss some of Royal Caribbean’s innovations as gimmicky. On a cruise aboard Mariner of the Seas years ago, I swore I wouldn’t go skating on the indoor skating rink. I hated the idea of it — who ice-skates at sea?! — until I tried it. Then it was a ton of fun.

Symphony of the Seas boasts plenty of these diversions. It’s got the Ultimate Abyss, the tallest slide at sea, cantilevering out over the stern. A nine-deck-high zip line whisks guests from one side of the vessel to the other. The AquaTheatre hosts amazing acrobatic performances, outdoors, at the stern of the ship. And a 1,346-square foot Ultimate Family Suite even includes an indoor slide, an air hockey table, and a wall made entirely of Lego.

The ship is completely superlative, from its plethora of dining experiences and onboard bars and lounges, to its sumptuous spa and theatre venues that boast hugely original shows laden with Hollywood-quality production values. Aboard Symphony of the Seas, guests can “float” within a detailed replica of the International Space Station as part of the new Flight: Dare to Dream production show in the 1,401-seat Royal Theatre. Astronaut Clayton C. Anderson, who spent 167 days in space, consulted with Royal Caribbean on the production.

“Symphony of the Seas is the latest example of how our people work to push the envelope of innovation with each new ship,” said Richard D. Fain, Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. chairman and chief executive. “The Oasis Class has been a trend-setting design, but the team has evolved the design to build on that success to provide even more incredible family adventures.”

The idea that the ship is the destination is the operating ethos around Symphony of the Seas. The great itineraries Royal Caribbean has designed around her inaugural season are just the icing on the cake. In the Western Mediterranean, she’ll sail popular itineraries out of Barcelona, most of which are seven days in duration and call on ports that include Palma de Mallorca, Spain; Provence (Marseilles), France; Florence/Pisa (La Spezia), Italy; Rome (Civitavecchia), Italy; and Capri (Naples), Italy.

Come fall, Symphony of the Seas crosses the Atlantic Ocean on a 12-night journey from Barcelona to Miami that departs on Oct. 28. From there, she’ll begin her winter schedule of voyages to the Caribbean and the Bahamas. Her week-long Western Caribbean itineraries call on ports in Honduras, Mexico and the Bahamas, while her Eastern Caribbean sailings include stops in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands; Philipsburg, St. Maarten; San Juan, Puerto Rico; and Basseterre, St. Kitts, depending on the exact itinerary.

Don’t let her immense size fool you: this is the ship that stands to out-entertain any other vacation on Earth.

Happy cruising.

Portsandbows.com, sponsored by Expedia CruiseShipCenters, 1-800-410-4744,www.cruise.center, for daily updates on the latest cruise news, best deals and behind-the-scenes stories from the industry. You can also sign up for an email newsletter on the site for even more cruise information. Aaron Saunders may be contacted directly at portsandbowsaaron@gmail.com

When Jeffrey Dean Morgan first saw himself on screen as Agent Russell in the mega-budgeted monster film, Rampage, he noticed an uninvited guest creeping into his performance from time to time.

It was Negan, the ruthless and verbose chief antagonist he plays on the AMC juggernaut the Walking Dead, who has become one of the most divisive, talked-about and intriguing characters on television in the past two years.

“There’s also some similarities to Negan, but I was also shooting this movie the same time I was doing the show, so I think there was a little bit of slop-over effect,” says Morgan, in an interview with Postmedia on the day after the red carpet première of Rampage in Hollywood. “I was watching the movie last night and I’m like ‘Oh, that looked like a little bit of a Negan thing I had there.’ Doing both at the same time, it was a little hard to differentiate on days I was tired I’m sure.”

Morgan insists it wasn’t intentional. But it is actually quite effective, a winking nod to the audience that keeps us unsettled about the mysterious Agent Russell. Just who is this guy? What are his allegiances? What are his intentions?

“I don’t know what to say in interviews, either,” says Morgan. “I think he’s very much a red herring and you’re not supposed to know as an audience which way this character is going to go. I think (director Brad Peyton), did a good job telling the story. And I’ve heard a lot in the interviews that I’ve done that people are interested in finding out more about Agent Russell and where he comes from and who he is. That’s always a good thing to hear, I suppose. If you make a movie and people want to know more about your character, you’ve done OK.”

Jeffrey Dean Morgan in Rampage [Warner Bros]

Still, for now, Morgan says there are four stars of Rampage: The gigantic silverback gorilla, grey wolf and American crocodile that mutate to monstrous proportions and wreak havoc on Chicago; and gigantic action star Dwayne Johnson, who plays an anti-poaching primatologist named David Okoye. The muscle-bound Okoye is pals with George (played through motion-capture by Jason Liles), the loyal silverback gorilla who communicates through sign language before being infected with some sort of nefarious genetic-altering substance that mutates him into a massive and massively pissed-off menace. Okoye and geneticist Dr. Kate Caldwell (Naomie Harris), go rogue to try and figure out a way to save America’s cities and George at the same time.

Agent Russell enters the scene early on in the mayhem as a member of a mysterious government agency. Like Negan, he seems to be in love with his own voice. He gets to say things like: “When science s–ts the bed, I’m the guy they call to change the sheets,” and occasionally starts sentences with “As my old grand-pappy used to say . . . “

“In reading the script, I thought the role was the coolest role in the movie,” Morgan says. “Don’t tell Dwayne I said that.”

Rampage was based on the 1980s Midway arcade game of the same name, which allowed players to destroy cities as George, Lizzie (the crocodile), and Ralph (the wolf.) Since the film is so dependent on CGI and post-production techniques, he and the other actors often had to perform to invisible co-stars, requiring much child-like imagination.

“Making a movie like this is like being a kid again.”

“You have to really find something that makes you react in a way that is comparable to a 40-foot gorilla throwing something at you,” he says. “So you’re putting on your acting shoes, I guess. But making a movie like this is like being a kid again. So it’s finding your inner child…”

But before he began killing off fan favourites with his barbwire-wrapped baseball bat in the Walking Dead, the actor didn’t seem to have many issues with typecasting. He played everything from tragic heart-transplant patient Denny Duquette in the weepy medical drama Grey’s Anatomy, to a dreamily sensitive P.I. in the political drama The Good Wife, to Sam and Dean’s tormented father in the CW’s Supernatural. He even played Joe DiMaggio in the miniseries The Secret Life of Marilyn Monroe. But Morgan acknowledges that the shadow of Negan is likely to follow him for quite some time.

“It is something I’m finding out as the days go on that I would like to get away from Negan,” he says. “I think he is sort of all-encompassing. I don’t think I realized when I took the role how big it was, how big that Walking Dead world was. So, yeah, I think to find things that are very different from Negan for me is going to be very important moving forward with my career, whichever direction I decide to take it.”

]]>http://o.canada.com/entertainment/movies/jeffrey-dean-morgan-inspired-by-negan-for-rampage/feed0Jeffrey Dean Morganpostmedianews1Jeffrey Dean Morgan in RampageGlobal Voices: How young is too young to protest?http://o.canada.com/life/global-voices-how-young-is-too-young-to-protest
http://o.canada.com/life/global-voices-how-young-is-too-young-to-protest#respondWed, 18 Apr 2018 13:57:19 +0000http://o.canada.com/?p=767498A new cadre of youth voices is emerging in nationwide protests against gun violence. Thousands of classrooms sat empty last month when students in the United States and Canada walked out in solidarity with the 17 students shot and killed in Florida in February.

Amid the rising tide of youth activism, not everyone is convinced that kids could be that organized.

We heard similar whispers of skepticism on a smaller scale when we started our charity; some assumed it was our parents pulling the strings. So we weren’t surprised when the same ugly doubt surfaced around the March for Our Lives movement.

Whether in massive marches or small community actions, parents often ask us how young is too young to get involved? We’ve always answered that if young people are old enough to be affected by an issue, they’re old enough to act on it.

At age 12, Craig read an article about child labour. After researching as much as he could at the library — this was before the internet age — Craig travelled to South Asia to learn more. Our parents were hesitant at first, and insisted on a chaperone for the trip, but were unfailingly supportive of his passion. It’s our experience that idealism in young people isn’t a phase — it can be a lifelong pursuit.

We’ve seen that same journey in others.

If young people are old enough to be affected by an issue, they’re old enough to act on it.

Palvi Saini’s family settled in Winnipeg from India when she was in Grade 3, and her earliest memories of Canada are the slurs she faced in school hallways. Last year, with a rising tide of Islamophobia in Canada and U.S. President Donald Trump’s travel ban in America, she organized a march through the city and a rally at the Manitoba Legislature.

While hundreds attended, two were conspicuously absent: her parents. Not only had they not orchestrated the event, they wanted Palvi to focus more on her studies.

It was her activism, though, that led to a new career path. Palvi is now studying at the University of Manitoba on her way to becoming a human rights lawyer.

There is a long history of students demanding change. It took the courage of nine black teenagers in an all-white school in Little Rock, Ark., in 1957 to herald the end of segregated education in the U.S. A decade later, thousands of Latino students in Los Angeles led El Movimiento to address racial imbalances in school funding. In Canada, many of the most powerful voices bringing attention to the suicide epidemic among Indigenous communities have belonged to young people.

Civic engagement isn’t just better for society, it’s better for the individuals involved. A recent study looked at 10,000 young people from across racial and economic lines, finding that young adults who attend rallies, volunteer and vote go further in school and achieve higher incomes than their non-engaged peers.

Thousands of students are preparing for a day of action demanding changes to gun laws on April 20. Many parents are understandably concerned about the impact of political activism on their children. But these youth activists are learning to become leaders.

Craig and Marc Kielburger are the co-founders of the WE movement, which includes WE Charity, ME to WE Social Enterprise and WE Day. For more dispatches from WE, check out WE Stories.

]]>http://o.canada.com/life/global-voices-how-young-is-too-young-to-protest/feed0High School Students March To House Speaker Paul Ryan's District In Call For Increased Gun Control LawscraigkielburgerPop Forecast for April 16: I Feel Pretty, Westworld and morehttp://o.canada.com/entertainment/pop-forecast-for-april-16-i-feel-pretty-westworld-and-more
http://o.canada.com/entertainment/pop-forecast-for-april-16-i-feel-pretty-westworld-and-more#respondMon, 16 Apr 2018 14:00:34 +0000http://o.canada.com/?p=767468Chris Lackner

“You don’t need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows,” Bob Dylan sang. But these days, a guide through the seemingly endless flurry of pop culture offerings is just what we need. With that in mind, here is what’s on the radar screen in TV, music and film for the coming week.

MOVIES

Big releases on April 20: I Feel Pretty; Super Troopers 2.

Big Picture: I Feel Pretty is like Big meet Shallow Hal meets refreshing. Comic Amy Schumer plays a woman who struggles with body image and self-esteem who wakes up from a head injury convinced she looks like a supermodel. And, more importantly, an actress like Jennifer Lawrence doesn’t play her mirror image — Schumer’s transformed leading lady looks the same. NOTHING has changed other than her confidence and sense of empowerment. Suddenly everyone friends, bartenders, bar flies and bosses no longer ignore or overlook her. She feels pretty, but she’s also witty. And wise. (Sorry, couldn’t help it).

Meanwhile, Super Troopers 2 — largely set in a fictional Quebec town — will probably offend more than a few north of the border. The imbecilic Vermont highway patrollers from the original are re-assigned to a town in the midst of an international border dispute. In the followup to the cult comedy classic, many of the jokes are at the expense of the residents of St. Georges Du Laurent. The American patrolmen do everything from speaking in terrible French accents while pretending to be Mounties, to fighting bears and hockey goons.

Forecast: I Feel Pretty feels timely. As for the comedy sequel, Canada hasn’t seen this much big-screen lampooning since South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut in 1999.

Big picture: Welcome to Westworld, where “amusement” parks are full of sentient, humanoid “hosts” that guests can use and abuse with abandon — only to have their cyborg memories wiped. What could possible go wrong? As we saw in the first season of this sci-fi epic, the answer is clear: everything. The revolution continues, along with the introduction of new theme parks, including the samurai-themed Shogun World.

Meanwhile, Mercury 13 is a documentary about the 12 astronauts that deserved to walk on the moon, but were held back by NASA because of their gender. Mercury 13 is a fascinating look at a secret program to recruit female astronauts. As one puts it, “If we’re going to send a human being into space, we need to send the ones that are most qualified.” Sound logic, indeed.

Forecast: In season 1, Westworld unexpectedly gave us more answers to its central mysteries in than Lost ever did. So expect season 2 to introduce more riddles.

Big Picture: Yup. Sting (The Police frontman, rock icon) and Shaggy (Boombastic) have made a crossover album together. Sure, no one asked for it. Nevertheless, don’t ask and you shall receive. The British music legend and the Jamaican reggae-pop artist follow a long line of such musical mutants. Aerosmith and Run-DMC? Michael Jackson and Mick Jagger? Bing Crosby and David Bowie? However, Lady Gaga and Tony Bennett aside, it isn’t common these days. While explaining their unique chemistry, Sting recently added “We both have ridiculous names.” Nice to know he has a sense of humour.

Woods, of Sarnia, Ont., is an indie wonder turned Nashville troubadour and well-regarded producer. Both Ways is his fifth solo album. Coincidentally, Truck Full of Money is the name of Donovan’s latest single — also what I would give to never see Sting and Shaggy make another album.

]]>http://o.canada.com/entertainment/pop-forecast-for-april-16-i-feel-pretty-westworld-and-more/feed0Popforecastpostmedianews1Global Voices: How to reduce infant mortalityhttp://o.canada.com/life/global-voices-how-to-reduce-infant-mortality
http://o.canada.com/life/global-voices-how-to-reduce-infant-mortality#respondTue, 10 Apr 2018 06:27:51 +0000http://o.canada.com/?p=767390Craig filed in out of the hot Kenyan sun, alongside Kipsigi women carrying jugs of clean water. In the corner of the mud hut, a two-day-old boy and his rail-thin mother clung to life. Craig visited the new family while in Kenya overseeing our projects.

He thought of how he’d held his wife’s hand as she gave birth to their first child. Mother and son — born a healthy eight pounds, 10 ounces — quickly regained their strength in hospital.

Mothers and children around the world are on our mind as the G7 Summit in Charlevoix, Que., fast approaches. With its focus on child and maternal health, the June 8-9 summit will be a chance to set standards and launch initiatives that will protect women and their babies — if we learn the right lessons.

Last month, UNICEF released a report and a top-10 list that no country wants to crack: nations with the highest rates of infant mortality. Malawi was conspicuously absent. While the global infant mortality rate has dropped 50 per cent since 1990, Malawi — a low-income country with a largely rural population — has reduced their child mortality rate by over 70 per cent.

Their interventions contain lessons for all countries.

Every year, medical breakthroughs promise to revolutionize health care in developing communities. But according to Dr. Rumishael Shoo, chief of health for UNICEF Malawi, low tech-interventions have saved the most lives there.

“It’s entirely a matter of scale,” he explains. “These are well-established, well-researched interventions that are delivered to all.”

In other words, it’s about distribution, not invention.

Malawi — a low-income country with a largely rural population — has reduced their child mortality rate by over 70 per cent.

For Malawi, where 85 per cent of people live in the countryside, that means access to basic medical care. The government invested heavily in frontline posts, hiring thousands of new health workers and bringing treatment to over 10,000 of the nation’s poorest villages. In 2000, half of the women in the country gave birth with the support of a midwife, nurse or doctor. Now, that number is well above 90 per cent.

More medically assisted births means more opportunity for education, and, if need be, intervention. In cases of premature birth, Kangaroo Mother Care is an alternative to costly neonatal wards and incubators. In these open units, pediatricians monitor development while mothers use skin-to-skin contact to help at-risk newborns regulate their own body temperature. In all, Kangaroo Care costs less then $5 a day per child and saves 32,000 babies a year.

“Countries that bend the curve on child and maternal health are ones that invest on the community level,” Dr. Shoo says.

Any country could replicate this method, investing in mobile health units and frontline clinics to ensure that all communities have access to care.

These lessons don’t just matter for developing nations. The rate of infant mortality among some First Nations populations is four times the national average in Canada. These communities face the same issue of uneven distribution and lack of access that we see around the world.

The biggest moments of our lives were the births of our children. But in too many communities, childbirth remains tied to an unspeakable fear.

With the right interventions, we can banish that fear — at home and abroad.

Craig and Marc Kielburger are the co-founders of the WE movement, which includes WE Charity, ME to WE Social Enterprise and WE Day. For more dispatches from WE, check out WE Stories.

“You don’t need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows,” but these days, a guide through the seemingly endless flurry of pop culture offerings is just what we need. With that in mind, here is what’s on the radar screen in TV, music and film for the coming week.

MOVIES

Big releases on April 13: Rampage; Truth or Dare.

Big picture: Rampage is King Kong meets Planet of the Apes meets Dwayne Johnson’s smile. The Rock plays a primatologist with tongue in cheek, muscles pecked and eyebrow firmly raised, and makes throwaway lines like “animals get me” somehow ooze with charm. This action-adventure finds his best friend — a silverback gorilla named George — getting a heck of a lot more than just curious. After a science experiment gone wrong infects his primate buddy, George rapidly reaches King Kong size — and King Kong levels of rage.

Soon enough, George — along with a 30-foot wolf and Godzilla-sized crocodile — decide to attack Chicago. The Windy City just can’t catch a break. Johnson’s hero is forced to fight the alpha animals all while trying to find an antidote to save his friend.

Meanwhile, Truth or Dare takes the teenage hormonal party game to SAW-like levels. It all starts when a group of randy, stupid, pretty young things on a trip to Mexico decide to play a game of truth or dare in a derelict, abandoned building. Faster than you can say curse, they find out “The game is real. Wherever you go or whatever you do, it will find you.” This horror movie is like Jumanji meet The Ring. The doomed group must “do the dare or die” — with stupid, possessed grins their faces to boot. Expect lines like, “We’re not playing the game; it’s playing us.”

Forecast: Truth or Dare will launch a new era of childhood and playground games minded for horrors. Get ready for Red Rover; Duck, Duck, Goose; Nicky Nicky Nine Doors; Kissing Tag; and Kissing Tag 2: Revenge of the Cooties.

Big picture: Lost in Space is a remake of the 1960s sci-fi series that takes place three decades from now in an age of space travel. The Robinson family, a group of highly trained colonists (and presumably descendants of the Swiss Family Robinson), are inadvertently marooned on the wrong world — a hostile place full of surprises. Toby Stephens, Molly Parker, and Parker Posey co-star. They quickly make enemies and unexpected allies — a robot that makes the original series version look like a toaster.

Meanwhile, Problem Areas finds another Daily Show veteran taking a comedic look at current events. The show will focused on filmed, on-location pieces versus putting Cenac behind a desk. John Oliver produces. Speaking of, does everyone who worked on Jon Stewart’s The Daily Show get a shot at a news comedy show? Oliver, Samantha Bee, Larry Wilmore. The list keeps growing.

Forecast: Donald Trump will mistake Lost in Space for non-fiction and propose building a wall between America and space in order to keep out migrant space caravans.

At 71, John Prine is still making superbly crafted music. [Edmonton Sun]

Big picture: Prine, a truly underappreciated singer-songwriter, releases another superbly crafted album at 71. After a series of health scares, the mood is understandably reflective and sombre at times on his latest studio effort. Especially on tracks like Summer’s End and When I Get to Heaven, which outlines out his plans when he gets past St. Peter’s gate, including “smoke a cigarette that’s nine miles long,” kiss a pretty gal on “the Tilt-a-Whirl,” reunite with the fam and sip vodka-and-ginger ale. (Note to angels: start rolling tobacco and working your distilleries now — just in case we ever lose this master bard).

Meanwhile, Juliana Hatfield releases an odd followup to Pussycat, her searing 2017 takedown of Donald Trump. The indie-rock legend delivers an Olivia Newton-John covers album to, as she told Billboard, “escape from all the horrible negativity.”

Forecast: Hatfield will prove a trendsetter. I predict a slew of cover tribute albums: Drake does MC Hammer; Nickelback does The Beatles; Justin Bieber does Elvis Presley; Miley Cyrus does Mozart; Solange does Beyoncé, and so on.

In 2013, Grossutti opened Pidgin, an upscale restaurant in a downtrodden neighbourhood — Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside is “Canada’s poorest postal code.” In an area afflicted with poverty and substance abuse, the restaurateur is as passionate about helping his neighbours as he is about fusion cuisine.

“We’re a restaurant, but we can still chip away at the issues (in our community),” Grossutti says.

We’re all familiar with those areas of our cities — the streets your mom told you never to walk down, the intersections that appear frequently in newspaper editorials. The challenge is promoting development in these communities without hurting the most vulnerable. It’s called gentrification, an influx of high-end businesses and affluent residents. It can be a dirty word if original residents are squeezed out.

City governments carry much of the responsibility for creating development without exclusion, through policies to keep housing affordable, and by support existing small businesses to remain competitive as the juice bars encroach. But the onus isn’t on government alone. Incoming businesses and residents must respect the history of the neighbourhood, and contribute actively to the community they now call home. Like Grossutti has done.

In the past, Pidgin ran a free meal program, and now hosts fundraising events for such non-profits as the Aboriginal Life in Vancouver Enhancement Society (ALIVE), an Indigenous community organization. The restaurant also offers “low barrier” employment opportunities for locals, even for those marginalized by mental health challenges or housing issues.

“Give time for the people in the community. That guy asking for a cigarette probably just wants a conversation.”

Earvin (Magic) Johnson is another urban entrepreneur who realized that development must be paired with community commitment. The former pro basketball great created a business empire and set the standard for revitalization by bringing food and entertainment franchises into America’s inner-city neighbourhoods. He made sure those businesses contributed by offering skills training for his employees, and establishing health clinics and community centres in the area.

We’ve chosen to headquarter our charity in Toronto’s downtown east side since we outgrew our parents’ living room and moved to the city in 2004. When we expanded and opened new offices last year that border Moss Park and Regent Park, we were aware of the area’s challenges.

Rather than avoid our neighbours, we’re hosting monthly youth poetry slams and day camps for local kids, and encouraging our staff to shop locally, including at Building Roots, a non-profit produce store that runs out of an upcycled shipping container.

The smallest gestures can make a difference if you’re a new business (or for that matter, a newcomer) in an up-and-coming area.

“Give time for the people in the community. That guy asking for a cigarette probably just wants a conversation,” Grossutti says.

Even if you don’t live in one of these neighbourhoods, you can still support businesses that do good. When you call to book a table or place a service request, ask about community contributions.

Revitalization without gentrification is not impossible. But it requires those moving in to a vulnerable neighbourhood to be a part of the community, not apart from it.

Craig and Marc Kielburger are the co-founders of the WE movement, which includes WE Charity, ME to WE Social Enterprise and WE Day. For more dispatches from WE, check out WE Stories.

“You don’t need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows,” Bob Dylan sang. But these days, a guide through the seemingly endless flurry of pop culture offerings is just what we need. With that in mind, here is what’s on the radar screen in TV, music and film for the coming week

MOVIES

Big releases (April 6): Blockers; A Quiet Place

Big picture: We’ve seen onscreen prom nights played for romance, raunch comedy, drama, horror and coming-of-age adventure. And now we get that coming-of-age adventure from the parents’ perspective (plus a lot of raunch). Three parents — led by wrestler-turned-mediocre-actor-turned-Dwayne-Johnson-wannabe John Cena — join forces on a mission to stop their daughters from losing their virginity on prom night after stumbling across their offspring’s Internet sex pact on social media. “You only block the ones you love,” is the tag line. Raunchy beer drinking contests (hint: not through the mouth), car chases, shouting, sarcasm, panic and misdemeanours ensure. This movie doesn’t have a lot going for it — other than coining the term “ass beer.” Meanwhile, A Quiet Place is a nearly silent indie horror movie about a family living in a post-apocalyptic world — in silence — in order to avoid mysterious creatures that hunt by sound. “Listen closely, move carefully and never make a sound,” we’re warned — along with the advice that “silence is survival.” In many ways, you can use the same pieces of advice to survive your Easter family dinner table.

Forecast: Cena will continue to be a poor man’s version of The Rock (albeit a poor man on steroids). Johnson’s movies get released between May and August — not the first Friday of April. In other predictions, every time you watch U.S. President Donald Trump speak from now on, you’ll just close your eyes and wish you lived in the silent, dystopian, monster-filled world of A Quiet Place.

Big picture: When 47 refugees and nearly 450 bodies inexplicably wash up on the beach of a small, American fishing town … it’s basically Fox Mulder’s dream come true. For starters, the “refugees” are from 250 years in future (and some of them are biogenetically enhanced). These travellers from the future are fleeing an epic war, but they may have not been the first to escape their doomsday (How long have you known your friends and family? More important, do they make robot sounds in their sleep?) The Crossing is the most complicated, convoluted pop cultural mash-up to date; it’s Lost meets refugee crisis meets X-Men meets The Shipping News meets Terminator meets Back to the Future. Steve Zahn and Natalie Martinez lead the ensemble cast. Meanwhile, Paterno finds Al Pacino starring as the late Pennsylvania State University football legend in an HBO film that examines the aftermath of the Jerry Sandusky sexual abuse scandal. Pacino personifies the iconic championship-winning coach — accused by many of possiblylooking the other way during his assistant Sandusky’s years of abuse.

Forecast: “You can’t imagine what will become possible,” one war-torn survivor from the future tells us in The Crossing. (Hey, time traveller. Don’t get all high and mighty. Have you seen the news headlines these days? We can imagine just about anything.) On the prediction front: Pacino will win an Emmy; The Crossing will fill a mainstream sci-fi drama void missing since Lost.

Big picture: She’s Australia’s answer to Madonna. The golden soprano is back with her first studio album since 2016. Expect more dance pop, but Minogue also recorded a few tracks in Nashville for some country flavour. Meanwhile, Eels — which is essentially the creative efforts of Mark Oliver Everett — returns with its first since 2014, which swims in musical waters ranging from rock to Motown. Meanwhile, Flatbush Zombies is a Brooklyn rap trio with a name that will hopefully inspire the next big undead TV series. Finally, Blackberry Smoke is an American southern rock outfit from Georgia that proves that band names no longer matter. Everything’s been done. Just slap some nouns together, kids — and make it a fun play on technology if you can. Bands of the near future will include Smart Phone Charge, Roomba Roar, Internet Icicle, and Social Medium.

Forecast: Minogue has described the album as “Dolly Parton standing on a dance floor.” We’re sold. Except for the standing part.

The cover illustration drew me in. It shows a young fox in a snow-covered forest, an accompanying blurb promising “a thrilling tale underscored by excellent, deep, and unique world-building.”

Which it turned out to be.

But I’d forgotten the difficulties I always have with elaborate fantasy worlds. My brain doesn’t seem to assimilate the often-strange names and unusual characters, nor am I good at keeping up with the worlds and rules that surface in these stories.

So it’s probably not surprising that it took me a while to get through this 427-page novel — Book 1 in a trilogy called The Realms of Ancient. Scion of the Fox introduces us to Roan Harken, a 17-year-old girl who was orphaned as a child and now is living with her aunt and semi-comatose grandmother in Winnipeg. By the time I finished the book, I’d grown thoroughly fond of Roan and understood why the author dedicated this novel “To any young person who has ever felt powerless…”

Scion of the Fox by S.M. Beiko [ECW Press]

Roan is faced with a task that would make any person feel that way: She must keep her corner of the world in balance and battle Zabor, a huge snake-monster trapped under the ice of the Assiniboine River, who demands the sacrifice of five children each spring — one from each of five spirit families that have special powers and watch over us all — in order to spare the Red River Valley from another devastating flood.

The Five Families include powerful Denizens who retain human bodies but are guided by animal spirits — Seal for water, Deer for spirit, Owl for air, Rabbit for earth, and Fox for fire — and Roan’s grandmother, Cecilia, is the Fox Denizen. With her human body fading, however, a successor is needed and Roan eventually becomes Scion of the Fox and takes over her grandmother’s duties, wondering all the while if she is up to the task.

Luckily, she doesn’t have to do battle alone. Counterparts from the other four families join her and while the battles in which they find themselves are far from settled by the end of Book 1. Children of the Bloodlands, to be published this fall, appears to move the action from Winnipeg to Scotland instead. Readers who love fantasy fiction are bound to embrace Roan and her cohorts, following them throughout the trilogy.

I myself still have a hard time with fantastical creatures like that wretched Zabor, and my stomach did heave a little when the author described gruesome battles or disconcerting scenes like moths emerging from a lump in Roan’s left eye — a lump she’d assumed was a chronic eye infection.

Every so often the story took turns that I thought were derivative of other fantasy tales (the orphaned Roan, for example, immediately brought to mind another orphan tasked with seemingly insurmountable problems: Harry Potter), but what kept the book alive for me was its setting. It isn’t every day you come across a fantastical novel set in Winnipeg. And I loved the author’s well-defined and diverse characters, especially the Indigenous one representing the Seal Family.

]]>http://o.canada.com/entertainment/books/books-for-kids-scion-of-the-fox/feed0Stack of colorful books, grungy blue background, free copy spacepostmedianews1Scion of the Fox by S.M. BeikoGalapagos takes travellers a step back in timehttp://o.canada.com/travel/ports-and-bows/galapagos-takes-travellers-a-step-back-in-time
http://o.canada.com/travel/ports-and-bows/galapagos-takes-travellers-a-step-back-in-time#respondThu, 29 Mar 2018 18:56:34 +0000http://o.canada.com/?p=767301You know you’ve arrived into a very different world when you stare into the eyes of a marine iguana, and it stares right back at you, unafraid. It doesn’t scurry around for protection or advance towards you as if you are a threat. It just looks at you, curious to see what you are.

Charles Darwin found much of the same environment when he arrived in the Galapagos Islands in 1835 aboard the HMS Beagle. His time spent on the islands off the coast of Ecuador would form his theories on evolution and contribute greatly to the scientific understanding of nature.

And, as I stare at the marine iguana staring back at me on the island of Española, it’s not hard to imagine that someone wound the clock back to 1835. With the exception of my ship bobbing at anchor in the distance and the dim mechanical grumblings of the inflatable zodiacs zipping guests to and from the island, many parts of the Galapagos feel every bit as remote as the deepest reaches of Antarctica or the High Arctic.

Taking me on my week-long journey to the Galapagos was Lindblad Expeditions-National Geographic and its pretty National Geographic Endeavour II. One of two Lindblad ships offering weekly year-round departures to this amazing UNESCO World Heritage Site, the National Geographic Endeavour II was built in 2005 as Via Australis. Lindblad purchased her in 2016 and put her through a US$10-million refit program before officially welcoming her into service, where she took the place of the much-loved 1966-built National Geographic Endeavour, which has since been retired from the fleet.

With a capacity for 96 guests, National Geographic Endeavour II one of the largest vessels able to sail in the Galapagos (current regulations restrict ships to fewer than 100 guests). But her increased size offers greater creature comforts onboard, including a panoramic, forward-facing lounge; a cosy library stocked with reference books on all things related to the islands; a small spa and fitness centre; and 52 outside cabins, four of which are spacious suites.

National Geographic Endeavour II also features its own fleet of kayaks — perfect for an afternoon paddle around the still waters of these remote islands — as well as a glass-bottomed boat that helps to complement the on-shore offerings on Lindblad’s Galapagos itineraries.

In the Galapagos, Lindblad’s sailings include a pre-cruise stay in Guayaquil, Ecuador prior to the two-hour flight from the mainland to the Galapagos Islands. After landing, guests are whisked aboard the National Geographic Endeavour II, which charts a course through the Western or Eastern Galapagos that can be changed depending on conditions. Because of this, there’s always something new and exciting to discover each and every day.

On-shore activities are guided by an expert team of Galapagos-certified guides, who share their knowledge and passion for these islands with guests. Expect early morning wakeup calls to beat the heat; a 5:30 a.m. wakeup followed by a 6 a.m. disembarkation time isn’t unusual. It’s worth it, however: watching the sun rise over the island of Floreana as we, and nature, wake up at the same time is a breathtaking experience.

Hikes and gentle walks are offered on most islands, but terrain is challenging; this is not the voyage for those with mobility issues.

However, Lindblad also offers guests some amazing snorkelling opportunities, with all gear provided on board (except prescription masks). Scenic zodiac explorations of the shoreline, kayaking outings, and glass-bottomed boat rides complement moments of scenic cruising on board the ship, where wine and cocktail hours are held outdoors when possible, in addition to an on-deck barbecue during one night of the voyage.

Lindblad prides itself on being a family-friendly line, so expect plenty of families — and lots of kids (even at this price point) — on these Galapagos itineraries. I was at first surprised by this (kids on expedition cruises aren’t something I’m used to seeing), but the exceptional crew aboard the National Geographic Endeavour II consummately satisfied all onboard.

It’s expensive, and it takes a long time to get to, but the Galapagos is more than just a mere bucket-list destination. It’s a journey back in time, with the experienced crews of Lindblad at the helm.

Happy cruising.

Visit Portsandbows.com, sponsored by Expedia CruiseShipCenters, 1-800-410-4744,www.cruise.center, for daily updates on the latest cruise news, best deals and behind-the-scenes stories from the industry. You can also sign up for an email newsletter on the site for even more cruise information. Aaron Saunders may be contacted directly atportsandbowsaaron@gmail.com

]]>http://o.canada.com/travel/ports-and-bows/galapagos-takes-travellers-a-step-back-in-time/feed0ftdc_lindblad_galapagos_bartolome-0248aaronpsaundersGlobal Voices: Canada willing to listen to young Canadianshttp://o.canada.com/life/global-voices-canada-willing-to-listen-to-young-canadians
http://o.canada.com/life/global-voices-canada-willing-to-listen-to-young-canadians#respondTue, 27 Mar 2018 13:50:07 +0000http://o.canada.com/?p=767253If young people are the future, they should help create it.

Canada Service Corps is part of a new national youth service strategy — something we’ve wanted to see ever since we were told as teenagers that we were too young to start a charity (we did anyway).

The program will help instil a culture of service nationwide with its multimillion-dollar budget earmarked for projects, individual grants, and an online tool that will match do-gooders with service opportunities. In the tradition of Katimavik and AmeriCorps, it could revolutionize how youth commit to service.

But first, it needs to hear from the very people it wants to help: young Canadians.

A survey asking teens and young adults to share their ideas to make Canada a better place will help guide the strategy.

Past programs haven’t been accessible to all. They’ve required young people take an entire year off and struggled to reach those in marginalized communities. This survey wants to answer the question of how we re-imagine what service means, creating accessible opportunities that inspire youth of all ages, no matter where they live or what their background.

While we wait for the official results, we went directly to youth to find out how they would create change. Their answers reflected the most educated, entrepreneurial and diverse generation in Canadian history.

Canada is waiting to hear their voices.

“Looking back, I feel like I was missing out on 15 years of my life.”

Dakota Livingston found her passion in student politics. “Looking back, I feel like I was missing out on 15 years of my life,” she says.

Now a student trustee of her local school board, the 16-year-old from Ontario’s Kawartha area wants all young people to know they have a role in shaping their communities. “We may not have the right to vote, but we have a voice.”

Autumn Buck says youth voices are already being heard. A Grade 12 student from Winnipeg, she says past conversations have often left out Indigenous youth. But recent demonstrations led by young people in response to the Colton Boushie and Tina Fontaine cases will spark change.

“When we think of resources for young people, we think of urban centres,” says Autumn. “But we can’t forget about Indigenous youth on reserves who need them most.”

When Evan Rogers began struggling with mental health issues, the Grade 12 student in Chatham, Ont., found purpose in his job. He wants to see more government incentives and youth jobs programs.

“If there are programs geared towards youth becoming employed, it sets them up for life against the ups and downs,” Evan says.

Originally from Palestine, 19-year-old Razan Samara says there are programs to bring in new immigrants, but not enough focus on helping them integrate socially. The result for many is isolation.

“That’s where Canadian youth can play a big role,” explains Samara, now based in Ontario. “Running soccer tournaments or after school programs, volunteering with arts, music and language groups to help people feel accepted and involved.”

Young Canadians have always had a vision for the future. Now the country is listening.

Parents, you have a role in this as well. Ask your children to share their ideas and take the survey.

We can’t wait to see where they lead us.

Craig and Marc Kielburger are the co-founders of theWE movement,which includes WE Charity, ME to WE Social Enterprise and WE Day. For more dispatches from WE, check out WE Stories.

“You don’t need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows,” Bob Dylan sang. But these days, a guide through the seemingly endless flurry of pop culture offerings is just what we need. With that in mind, here is what’s on the radar screen in TV, music and film for the coming week.

MOVIES

Big releases (March 29): Ready Player One.

Big picture: Ready Player One is Hunger Games meets TRON meets The Matrix … meets Steven Spielberg fell asleep with his head on the keyboard of the CGI machine. Based on yet another dystopian novel, this PG undertaking is set in 2045 — a chaotic world on the cusp of falling apart (Speaking of which … Hey! 2018! Have you looked at yourself in the mirror lately?). Thankfully, humanity has found escape in the OASIS, a sophisticated, virtual-reality universe that makes the internet look like a notepad.

OASIS’s eccentric founder pledges to leave his digital kingdom to whomever can find the equivalent of a “golden ticket” in his cyberverse. Enter young hero Wade Watts (Tye Sheridan), who joins the treasure hunt and quickly finds himself in a dangerous, fantastical world where anything is possible — including a lot of ugly, creative ways to perish. Spielberg directs this reality and mind-bending venture. The OASIS is like Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory run by sociopathic Oompa Loompa hackers.

Forecast: Spielberg is always on game — even when adapting mediocre material.

Meanwhile, the creator of Suburgatory (Emily Kapnek) has new, single-camera comedy about divorcees who re-ignite their relationship while sharing their family home. Each week, one is the “on-duty” parent and the other leads a bachelor life living out of the garage. What could possibly go wrong? Jenna Fischer and Oliver Hudson co-star.

Finally, Zach Braff stars as a 37-year-old dad — and recovering radio journalist — who risks it all to create a podcast startup company in Alex, Inc. Presumably, he finds himself competing with … essentially EVERYONE else on the internet. Good luck, buddy.

Big picture: Three strong female artists with new material. Musgraves plays more with country gal conventions — in the spirit of her 2013 debut Same Trailer, Different Park. On a promising note, her idol Willie Nelson has been an influence on her singing style (hopefully that does not crossover into her hairstyle or lifestyle).

Meanwhile, Ortega continues to imbue new country with old country. Ortega is like Dolly Parton’s vocals meets alt-country attitude and style. Her dark, Western-infused single, The Comeback Kid, brings old, avenging tales of gunslinging cowboys into the modern era.

Also, actress-musician Kate Nash (GLOW) heads back to the studio with a Kickstarter-funded (more than $150,000) album. Who needs major labels — or any labels — these days? Certainly not Kate.

Forecast: Liberate your playlist by adding Ortega’s new album (and all her previous releases, while you’re at it). On a side note, I predict I’ll soon start a Kickstarter campaign to simultaneously fund my new dystopian novel, podcast company and debut experimental-music album. (I write a newspaper column. What can I say? I need to hedge my bets on other forms of revenue in the future).

]]>http://o.canada.com/entertainment/pop-forecast-for-march-26-ready-player-one-roseanne-and-more/feed0Ready Player Onepostmedianews1AMES MCNAMARA, SARA GILBERT, LAURIE METCALF, EMMA KENNEY, JAYDEN REY, ROSEANNE BARR, MICHAEL FISHMAN, JOHN GOODMAN, LECY GORANSON, SARAH CHALKELindi OrtegaMortician Caitlin Doughty spotlighted in new doc Into the Nighthttp://o.canada.com/life/mortician-caitlin-doughty-spotlighted-in-new-doc-into-the-night
http://o.canada.com/life/mortician-caitlin-doughty-spotlighted-in-new-doc-into-the-night#respondMon, 26 Mar 2018 00:28:36 +0000http://o.canada.com/?p=767214Some people are meant to paint masterpieces, some to be financial wizards. Caitlin Doughty was born to think about death. The 33-year-old mortician has worked on thousands of corpses and pondered their sunken eyes, their heavy limbs, their mouths twisted into a final gasp.

She’s become an advocate for death acceptance and western funeral practice reform, and has written two books on the subject. But what can you say? Death truly becomes her.

“I like to say that we’re all kind of puppets, and death has its hand up our butts,” explains Doughty, who’s featured in the PBS documentary Into the Night: Portraits of Life and Death, debuting Monday.

“It’s important to acknowledge what a big role death plays in the way we go through the world,” she says. “The fact that people want to have children or build buildings comes from this fear that death is going to take it all away eventually.”

Doughty first realized as much when she was around eight years old. She was at a mall when a little girl climbed onto the edge of an escalator and fell off, her mother screaming.

After that, Doughty developed a fear of death and became somewhat obsessed with the subject. In university she majored in medieval history and death rituals, and started working at a crematorium.

Of course, she’s not the only one musing on our mortality. Helen Whitney’s documentary Into the Night, so named to reference Dylan Thomas’s poem Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night, is narrated by Sharon Stone and features Gabriel Byrne.

Caitlin Doughty in the PBS documentary Into the Night: Portraits of Life and Death[PBS]

Aside from Doughty, eight other people are profiled — some are facing their own deaths and others have had lives transformed by it. Among them: astrophysicist Adam Frank, Baptist minister Vernal Harris and former radical Islamist Maajid Nawaz.

Doughty herself has travelled the world to find out how different cultures deal with death. We in the west, she argues, could learn a lot.

“We need to break down these myths that dead bodies are dangerous, that they’re unsafe, that they have diseases, that they’re going to infect you,” she says.

“There are so many places like rural Indonesia where they stay with the body for sometimes years after someone’s died.

“Or a country like Japan. Even though they have these high-tech columns to keep the ashes, they still spend time with the physical body. They still watch it be washed and dressed. They still come after the cremation and pick through the bones with chopsticks and put them in an urn.”

Doughty is encouraged by the spike in cremation rates in the west in the past 10 years, which she says indicates a tide change in the way we think about death.

“I think that’s people saying, ‘You know what? The whole chemical embalming, wake, big burial thing doesn’t really work for me. I don’t really know what I want instead, so I’m just going to get a cremation,’ ” she says.

“So what could fill that void? Things like home funerals, taking care of the body on your own, and natural burials — just a simple hole in the ground and an unembalmed body put in it.”

She notes that death salons and cafés — in which folks gather to explore their shared mortality — are becoming more and more common. The trend began in Switzerland, expanded to England and is now spreading through the western world

“We have this combination of reverence and terror when it comes to a dead body, and that’s something that I still have today,” Doughty says. “Even though I’ve worked on thousands of dead bodies, I still have this sense of the sacred and the profane, this reverence and terror.”

Into the Night: Portraits of Life and Death airs Monday, March 26, PBS

]]>http://o.canada.com/life/mortician-caitlin-doughty-spotlighted-in-new-doc-into-the-night/feed0Caitlin Doughtymhank2012Caitlin Doughty in the PBS documentary Into the Night: Portraits of Life and DeathEnvision-ing a river cruise celebration with Jann Ardenhttp://o.canada.com/travel/ports-and-bows/envision-ing-a-river-cruise-celebration-with-jann-arden
http://o.canada.com/travel/ports-and-bows/envision-ing-a-river-cruise-celebration-with-jann-arden#respondThu, 22 Mar 2018 18:30:40 +0000http://o.canada.com/?p=767167Just as we enter the start of the 2018 European river cruise season, Avalon Waterways (cruise.center/avalon) has some compelling reasons to book early for 2019, not the least of which is a new ship and a special cruise hosted by Canada’s own Jann Arden.

Arden will sail aboard next year’s 12-day Blue Danube Discovery river cruise, departing Budapest on June 18, 2019, and concluding in Prague. While on board, guests will be treated to a private concert, photo opportunities and a CD signing, as well as the opportunity to mingle with the singer, who was appointed as a Member of the Order of Canada last year for her achievements as a singer-songwriter, and for her charitable work.

If you follow Avalon Waterways, you’ll know that Arden served as Godmother of Avalon Tranquility II in 2015, and hosted another of Avalon’s river cruises last year. The singer says she’s a fan of river cruising and Avalon Waterways, and looks forward to hosting this unique river cruise next year.

Ports on this 12-day journey include two nights in Budapest, followed by calls on Vienna, Durnstein, Passau, Regensburg, and Roth before heading to Prague for a two-night stay. Guests will be able to enjoy all of Avalon’s features, including free on-board bicycles and Nordic walking sticks, along with the ship’s soothing staterooms (nearly all of which feature the line’s signature design, whereby the beds face the ship’s wall-to-wall balconies). Complimentary wine, beer and soft drinks are provided with lunches and dinners, and Avalon’s elegant and contemporary styling is one of my favourite features about the line. It’s impossible not to feel welcomed aboard the line’s sleek ships.

In the case of the Jann Arden Cruise, as I’m calling it, guests are treated to another feature: the opportunity to sail aboard a brand-new ship, the Avalon Envision.

Debuting next year, the Avalon Envision will be the company’s 13th Suite Ship in Europe, and the 16th overall since Avalon Panorama debuted in 2011. Since then, Avalon’s Suite Ships have garnered plenty of awards from industry partners and consumers alike. Even covering the industry as regularly as I do, I don’t think I realized how fantastic (and spacious) the line’s staterooms were until I actually sailed aboard them last fall.

“Each of our Suite Ships in Europe features two full decks of these spacious staterooms,” says Stéphanie Bishop of Avalon’s Canadian office. “Measuring 200 square feet, they feature our trademark ‘open-air balconies’ to bring in the local sights and sounds.”

The balconies in Avalon’s signature Panorama Suite are large, opening over two metres on the ship’s European vessels and up to 3.5 metres in Southeast Asia. I remember spending a memorable evening sailing away from Amsterdam with the windows open as far as they would go on my Avalon Waterways cruise last fall, listening to the birds chirp and watching the sun set as we began our journey down the Rhine.

Even better, Avalon is offering a number of incentives right now on its 2018 and 2019 river voyages. These include the line’s new Active Discovery river cruises in Europe that pair soft adventures in ports throughout Europe with history, culinary tastings, and off-the-beaten-path sights. A number of activities are offered on these voyages, from guided cycling tours to hands-on art classes and active (but very manageable) hikes and walks through some of Europe’s most picturesque towns. Avalon even offers a very cool Running Tour of Amsterdam on these Active itineraries; a nice diversion from the usual canal cruise and museum visits that’s perfect for active travellers looking to see Amsterdam the way locals do.

If I can impart two important words on you when it comes to river cruises, it would be this: book early.

Like other river cruise lines, many of Avalon’s most popular European river cruise itineraries are already filling up for 2018, and booking for 2019 is essential for one-off voyages like Arden’s hosted cruise, or the always-popular Tulip Time voyages through Belgium and the Netherlands in springtime.

For those looking to travel this year, there’s still time to book for that summer, fall or even Christmas Markets river cruise. Personally, I’m already planning my fall river cruise journey.

Happy cruising.

Visit Portsandbows.com, sponsored by Expedia CruiseShipCenters, 1-800-410-4744,www.cruise.center, for daily updates on the latest cruise news, best deals and behind-the-scenes stories from the industry. You can also sign up for an email newsletter on the site for even more cruise information. Aaron Saunders may be contacted directly atportsandbowsaaron@gmail.com

]]>http://o.canada.com/travel/ports-and-bows/envision-ing-a-river-cruise-celebration-with-jann-arden/feed0avalon_extaaronpsaundersGlobal Voices: Canada must take water shortages seriouslyhttp://o.canada.com/life/global-voices-canada-must-take-water-shortages-seriously
http://o.canada.com/life/global-voices-canada-must-take-water-shortages-seriously#respondTue, 20 Mar 2018 06:59:17 +0000http://o.canada.com/?p=767149A winter of bitter winds but little snow gives way to a dry spring. April showers are just a nursery rhyme. City officials ask citizens to take shorter showers. The drought drags through summer. By September, the town pumps are dredging up mud. One morning, you turn on your tap and nothing comes out.

What do you do?

Cape Town is struggling to stave off “Day Zero” — when the South African city will become the world’s first metropolis to run out of water. With World Water Day approaching, we wonder: could that happen in Canada? If it does, we’re not ready.

We hear you laughing. Canada is waterlogged — 20 per cent of global freshwater resources live here. But much of our water is in remote areas, expensive to retrieve. And less than half our water is renewable. Only about one per cent of the Great Lakes is “new” water, refreshed each year, yet thirsty U.S. cities increasingly eye that bounty.

What might a severe water shortage look like in a Canadian city? We can’t know for certain, but we can look elsewhere for clues.

What might a severe water shortage look like in a Canadian city? We can’t know for certain.

Brazil is a water-rich country like Canada, but Sao Paolo almost ran dry in 2015. To protect the supply, the city shut off taps for up to 12 hours daily. When Zero Day arrives in Cape Town, residents will have to queue at city-run distribution points to get their ration of trucked-in water. Your daily schedule will revolve around quenching thirst.

You’ll have to tighten your pocketbook. Many Californians have seen water bills double in their multi-year drought. The well-to-do can afford bottled water at undoubtedly inflated prices, or even shell out hundreds of dollars to have a private company truck water to their house. Others have to make do with the city’s water ration. In the aftermath of its shortage, the lowest-income communities of Sao Paolo saw an outbreak of health problems like urinary infections in women, caused by dehydration.

Water shortages often lead to civil unrest. A 2016 drought in southern India led to violent riots between residents of two states over the right to use shared water resources. We’d like to think Canadians are too polite for this, but a water crisis could pit cities against each other, making Senators versus Canadiens look like a tea party.

Despite alarming global events and telling signs here, Canadians are still complacent about our water. Our conservation efforts compare poorly to other countries. We install low-flow toilets and shower heads, but remain the world’s second-biggest guzzlers of the wet stuff. Meanwhile, none of our governments have a playbook ready for when the reservoir dries up.

So, Canada, what’s our water plan? When the tap runs dry, it’s too late to ask what we could have done.

Craig and Marc Kielburger are the co-founders of the WE movement, which includes WE Charity, ME to WE Social Enterprise and WE Day. For more dispatches from WE, check out WE Stories.

]]>http://o.canada.com/life/global-voices-canada-must-take-water-shortages-seriously/feed0Cape Town’s main water supply from the Theewaterskloof dam.craigkielburgerPop Forecast for March 19: Pacific Rim Uprising, Krypton and morehttp://o.canada.com/entertainment/pop-forecast-for-march-19-pacific-rim-uprising-krypton-and-more
http://o.canada.com/entertainment/pop-forecast-for-march-19-pacific-rim-uprising-krypton-and-more#respondMon, 19 Mar 2018 20:56:33 +0000http://o.canada.com/?p=767142“You don’t need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows,” Bob Dylan sang. But these days, a guide through the seemingly endless flurry of pop culture offerings is just what we need. With that in mind, here is what’s on the radar screen in TV, music and film for the coming week.

MOVIES

Big Releases on March 23: Pacific Rim: Uprising; Sherlock Gnomes

Big Picture: Poor humans. The Pacific Rim sequel finds us, “caught in a war between the monsters that destroyed our cities and the monsters we created to stop them.” (Rule of thumb: Creating monsters never ends well.) This sequel is like Godzilla meets Terminator 2: Rise of the Machines meets Voltron meets Transformers. Turns out the giant, piloted robots we built to combat giant alien monsters (Kaiju) have developed a life of their own. They’re no longer taking orders from their human pilots. John Boyega (Star Wars) stars as Jake, a rebel pilot with daddy issues (his pops was a famous fighter who sacrificed his life to beat the Kaiju). Jake is like Maverick from Top Gun without the sense of humour, or the down time for flirting and Righteous Brothers impersonations.

Before you can stop to think, a new crack team of pilots is assembled to helm our robots that haven’t gone over to the Dark Side. They appear to live off a pure diet of energy drinks and clichéd morale pep talks such as, “it doesn’t matter where you came from, who believed in you, and who didn’t.”

Meanwhile, Sherlock Gnomes is the animated sequel to 2011’s Gnomeo & Juliet. It finds the garden gnome duo employing the help of the titular gnome detective (voiced by Johnny Depp) to hunt down missing lawn ornaments. This animated franchise can be summed up as “garden gnomes come to life whenever humans aren’t looking” meets bad gnome puns.

Forecast: The Kaiju aren’t vanquished yet — this “uprising” will have multiple enemy fronts. But the Pacific Rim sequel lacks another larger-than-life figure: recent Oscar-winner Guillermo Del Toro directed the original, but stepped back into a producer role for the follow-up. Meanwhile, I predict the gnome franchise will become an epidemic. Upcoming instalments will include Gnomes Alone, Sweet Gnome Alabama, A Prairie Gnome Companion, I’ll Be Gnome for Christmas and Gnome on the Range.

Big Picture: Krypton is Game of Thrones meets Superman meets science fiction. Released on the Man of Steel’s 80th anniversary, this prequel is largely set in Krypton decades before its famous destruction — and the release of the escape pod that dropped a super baby on the Kents’ Kansas farm. The plot centres on Superman’s grandfather, Seg-El — as played by Britain’s Cameron Cuffe. (BTW: essentially all Kryptonians are played by British actors; it must be a long-lost colony). Seg-El and is family take up arms against tyranny on their home world. We even get a time-travelling human in a ballcap to explain the stakes: “someone has come from the future to destroy Krypton because, where I’m from, your son becomes the greatest hero in the universe.” (The best news about a series set on Krypton: no depressing, anti-alien preaching from Batman.)

Meanwhile, Shonda Rhimes unveils a Grey’s Anatomy spinoff called Station 19 set near the soapy hospital: “three blocks down and into the fire,” to be exact. This one has all of Grey’s hallmarks. Jaina Lee Ortiz plays a driven firefighter who inherits the mantle of leadership from her father, but who still has time to be in a love triangle. (Grey’s legion of fans will be happy. Personally, I promised never to watch another firefighter series after the anti-hero perfection of Rescue Me.)

Finally, The Detail follows three female homicide detectives at different stages of their lives and careers. Angela Griffin, Shenae Grimes-Beech and Wendy Crewson co-star. They’re not angels and they don’t answer to anyone named Charlie. From the executive producers of Saving Hope and Rookie Blue, it promises “cop life, real life” as they balance work, home, friends and personal crises.

Forecast: Superman’s familial origin story follows the success of Batman’s own coming of age on Gotham. What’s next? An story about Aquaman’s early life as a bearded tadpole? Meanwhile, Station 19 and The Detail continue a positive trend toward more female leads in cable dramas.

Honourable Mention: Barry (March 25, HBO). Bill Hader plays a depressed hitman who finds a new lease on life after joining an acting class. Henry Winkler plays his teacher. It’s like Grosse Point Blank (1997) without the high school reunion. Expect dark zingers like, “You’re a killer, Barry. Acting is direct conflict for being someone who anonymously kills people.”

Big Picture: White recently revealed to Rolling Stone that one of his new tracks was inspired by a musical manuscript written by gangster Al Capone in Alcatraz. White purchased it, interpreted it and recorded it as the song Humoresque. (What have you done with your life lately?) The outspoken White also recently called for an “injection of new blood” in rock ’n’ roll to help rejuvenate the lagging genre. (I agree, but don’t we all want to see what Mick Jagger and Keith Richards look like on stage as centenarians?) Meanwhile, as far as I can tell from the title, R&B star Toni Braxton went back in time to the 1970s to create her new album — the ninth studio effort for the multi-Grammy winner. Her last album was a collaboration with Babyface called Love, Marriage & Divorce — so I suppose we shouldn’t begrudge her all the sex and cigarettes

Forecast: A visit to White’s musical house — even if the décor isn’t white stripes — is always a welcome invitation.

Storm Reid is the quintessence of calm in the eye of the — well, you know. The young U.S. actress isn’t asking herself very many questions as she fields a barrage of them from the press.

As the star of Ava DuVernay’s Walt Disney Pictures-produced new mega-budget children’s adventure A Wrinkle in Time, the young actress is about to go from relative unknown to household name. And she’s OK with that.

“It’s really fun,” Reid said, of all the promotional work that comes with her impending stardom. “I don’t really think about the attention. I could care less about it. It’s nice but it comes with what I really want to do.”

Reid has known she wanted to act since the age of three, growing up as the youngest of four children in Atlanta, Ga.

“It was solely my idea,” she said. “It wasn’t (a thing in) my house, or my mom’s idea. I really think of it as fate, or destiny. I don’t think a lot of three-year-olds are telling people what they want to do with their lives. It was meant to be, and I’m glad God gave me the talent to do so and to share it with the people around me.”

If she sounds remarkably poised for 14, Reid seems doubly so in light of her performance as A Wrinkle in Time’s geeky, math-savvy protagonist, Meg Murry, who must overcome her insecurities as she travels the galaxy, brother and potential boyfriend in tow, to save her father from the forces of darkness. Rounding out Meg’s crew is a trio of celestial well-wishers, played by Oprah Winfrey, Reese Witherspoon and Mindy Kaling.

Reid read Madeleine L’Engle’s 1962 novel in Grade 6, before there was any talk of starring in the film, earning an A on her book report. That was three long years ago.

Levi Miller, left, and Storm Reid in A Wrinkle In Time. [Disney ]

“I loved the journey and the story,” she said. “I just loved that Meg was so peculiar and confusing, and that she didn’t realize how great she was, even though everyone else did, and that it took her a trip around the universe to figure it out.”

As calm and collected as she appears in interview, Reid admits to being overwhelmed during her initial meeting with DuVernay.

“I was very intimidated and really nervous,” she said. “It was so nice meeting her and spending a couple of days with her in the audition process, just being myself. I didn’t think I was going to get the part. I thought I would do my best and hopefully Ms. Ava would consider me for something in the future.”

When she was told she had landed the part, Reid couldn’t believe it.

“I was so shocked,” she said. “It’s such a blessing. I get emotional talking about it. When I got the call from Miss Ava, I started crying.”

Reid’s southern manners only add to her charm. She refers to her elder fellow cast members with Mr. and Miss prefixes, beginning with Winfrey, who never fails to leave an impression.

“Miss Oprah was so much fun,” Reid said. “She’s so amazing, and so talented. She doesn’t act like Oprah. She just acts like a regular woman who loves what she does. She’s so grounded, helpful and gracious. I was so glad to share the screen with her, learn from her and take her advice.”

“She said, ‘Don’t waste energy on things I can’t change; and to use it on positive things.’”

And what was the most memorable pointer she received from the former queen of daytime television, who brings serenity and a touch of divinity to her role as the seemingly all-powerful Mrs. Which?

“She said, ‘Don’t waste energy on things I can’t change; and to use it on positive things, to gravitate to something I can do something about,’ ” Reid said. “That’s become my life motto.”

That mantra could double as the take-home lesson Meg learns in A Wrinkle in Time. And while she’s nowhere near as self-conscious and awkward as her character, Reid connected to Meg’s internal transformation.

“It was challenging,” she said, of playing someone ill at ease in her own skin. “I am very open-spirited and very happy, so it was a challenge to go through some of the experiences Meg went through. I basically had to step into her shoes, put myself in her situation and think about how I would act.”

With A Wrinkle in Time, there will now be legions of young girls stepping into Reid’s shoes. One of the triumphs of DuVernay’s vision of the story is in placing a young woman of colour in the lead role.

Reid has been around Miss Ava and Miss Oprah long enough to glean what that means, and to realize what her presence in the film represents in Hollywood.

“It’s such a blessing,” she said. “I feel so grateful to play a female protagonist, in this film, who is African-American. It feels like representation matters. All people should be represented, in a good way. I feel like this film does that for girls who look like me, and just girls who are going through tough times.

“I’m glad to be able to break barriers and to represent inclusion and diversity. I just want it all to be normal.”

LOS ANGELES — Oprah Winfrey wants nothing but the best for Ava DuVernay. So she is elated to witness DuVernay’s meteoric rise over the past half-decade.

That time frame also marks the duration of their young friendship, so far. Soon after they met, Winfrey jumped on board as co-producer and actor in DuVernay’s 2014 film Selma, which recounts a pivotal moment in the life and activism of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Things are a little different this time around, as the two women prepare for the release of A Wrinkle In Time, the long-awaited adaptation of Madeleine L’Engle’s 1962 novel.

“First of all, you have Disney money,” Winfrey said, referring to the $103 million budget that has seen DuVernay become the first female filmmaker of colour to direct a live-action feature with a production budget of more than $100 million.

“With Selma, at the end, it was, ‘Are we gonna have enough money? How much money do I have? Let me see if I can help you out here,’ ” Winfrey said.

“(This time) we’ve got the Disney machine. And one of the reasons why it’s so exciting is that you’ve got Ava DuVernay at the helm of that. It makes me well inside. …

“What a difference from being with her on a film where we literally had one day to shoot everyone coming across the bridge in Selma, and you’ve got to get it before it rains, and if it rains you’re not going to get it because we don’t have enough money to try it again.”

For DuVernay, being handed that kind of budget to oversee the adaptation of a world-famous kids’ book by the world’s biggest and most storied children’s film company was a dream come true.

And she immediately set about making the story her own, casting an actress of colour as the film’s protagonist and sprinkling the rest of A Wrinkle In Time with a contemporary spirit that marks it as a flag-bearer for Hollywood in the era of #MeToo and #BlackLivesMatter.

A Wrinkle in Time tells the story of an awkward adolescent girl named Meg (Storm Reid), who with help from her little brother, Charles Wallace (Deric McCabe) a cute older boy named Calvin (Levi Miller) and three benevolent deities — Mrs. Whatsit (Reese Witherspoon), Mrs. Who (Mindy Kaling) and Mrs. Which (Winfrey) — must travel through space and time in search of her father.

“It’s a film for young people, and people who are young at heart,” DuVernay said. “I had to ask myself, ‘Do I still have heart?’ And, ‘Is there an inner child still in me?’ I adapted to the 11-, 12-, 13-year-old in me to find that light that I used to have, that dreamer.

“There is love in every frame of this movie,” she said. “There’s love in every frame of everything I do. I don’t have children, I won’t have children — my choice. These films are my children, they’re what I leave behind.”

Without naming names, she said her latest film can be seen as a balm for the current political climate.

“I tried to give a little bit of sweetness to the world in these dark times,” she said. “It’s a tough time, right now. This film really saved me, in a lot of ways, from going down dark holes. It kept me in a really light-filled place.”

“It’s a tough time, right now. This film really saved me, in a lot of ways, from going down dark holes.”

The story’s celebration of the ingenuity of its young female protagonist is crucial, DuVernay said. The child of physicist parents (played by Chris Pine and Gugu Mbatha-Raw), Meg struggles to fit in at school and to find the strength to overcome the seemingly insurmountable challenges of her mission. Ultimately, she learns, that strength must not come from the world outside, but from within. That message of empowerment resonated with the director.

“We’re living in a chaotic time, as adults,” she said. “Imagine the tension (kids) feel. So to be able to give a little breather, say who you are is enough, and this is how you’re going to make it through — by finding something in yourself that guides you. We all have that little voice inside of us, and a lot of times we don’t listen to it.”

To illustrate her point, DuVernay brought it back to someone she loves and respects, who recently had to deal with millions of people telling her what they thought she should do.

“A friend of mine had a tremendous experience of peer pressure of gigantic proportions that I had never experienced or seen, just a couple of weeks ago, when the whole country was saying, ‘You should run for president,’ ” DuVernay said, eyeing Winfrey with a wry smile.

“She said, ‘The voice inside of me says, ‘I am not your president. I can do good in the world in a different way.’ I probably would have even said, ‘Everybody thinks I should? Maybe I’ll try.’ But that’s what we need more people to tap into — your own voice.”

]]>http://o.canada.com/entertainment/movies/ava-duvernay-brings-a-little-bit-of-sweetness-to-a-wrinkle-in-time/feed0Reese Witherspoon, left, Oprah Winfrey and Ava DuVernay discuss A Wrinkle in Timepostmedianews1A Wrinkle in Time.Don’t have to head south to seek Disney cruises Alaska, Maritimes, transatlantic itineraries also availablehttp://o.canada.com/travel/ports-and-bows/dont-have-to-head-south-to-seek-disney-cruises-alaska-maritimes-transatlantic-itineraries-also-available
http://o.canada.com/travel/ports-and-bows/dont-have-to-head-south-to-seek-disney-cruises-alaska-maritimes-transatlantic-itineraries-also-available#respondTue, 13 Mar 2018 22:29:06 +0000http://o.canada.com/?p=767103If you’ve got kids, a trip with Disney Cruise Line is a no-brainer. The line offers four classically styled ships that recall the grandeur of the great transatlantic ocean liners, but with all of the family-friendly amenities and features that you’d expect of a thoroughly modern vessel.

What you might not know, however, is just how strong Disney’s onboard product is. Disney die-hards — even the ones without kids — flock to the line’s four ships each year. Much like a trip to Disneyland or Walt Disney World, this all comes at a cost that isn’t insignificant. But as the saying goes, you get what you pay for — and with Disney, you’re getting a lot.

For the kids, where to start? The children’s facilities aboard Disney’s four ships — but particularly the newer Disney Dream and Disney Fantasy — are second to none. Age-specific programs and play areas are more fanciful and well thought out than other major cruise lines, and Disney has always managed to keep one step ahead of the game in this area. Disney’s Oceaneer Lab offers up craft studios, an animation studio where kids can create their own animation cells, take part in wacky challenges, and even steer their own pirate ship as part of a computer-controlled navigation simulator. That’s in addition to all of the on-deck activities, pool areas, and evening production shows.

Adults aren’t left out of the action, either. Disney’s entire fleet offers a line of adult-only specialty restaurants (Paolo on Disney Magic and Disney Wonder; and Remy aboard Disney Dream and Disney Fantasy) that are as classy and elegant as anything you’d find on a luxury cruise, while all four ships have some of the best spas at sea. Couple that with adults-only nightclubs and lounges and live music offered nightly, and it’s easy to see why Disney’s ships set out full on nearly every voyage.

While it’s no secret that Disney offers cruises to the Caribbean, including its splendid private island known as Castaway Cay, the line’s most interesting itineraries lie elsewhere.

Disney Wonder returns to Alaska again this summer, sailing five, seven and nine-night voyages out of Vancouver between May and September. Sister ship Disney Magic, meanwhile, will feature four- and seven-night cruises to the Canadian Maritimes and New England that depart from New York in September and October.

You can also take the kids across the pond, either on a transatlantic voyage, or as part of a cruise through Europe. Most of these last a week in duration and sail through the Mediterranean, but some of Disney’s most exciting summer 2018 itineraries can be found in Northern Europe. My favourite — though it’s nearly sold out as of this writing — is the 10 Night Norwegian Fjords & Iceland cruise that sails between Copenhagen, Denmark and Dover, England on Aug. 16. But there is also a very reasonably priced (for Disney) voyage around the British Isles on Sept. 2 aboard Disney Magic that still shows availability. Sure, you have to pull the kids out of school for this one; but it’s tough to replace that kind of hands-on education that travel provides.

Closer to home, Disney also offers voyages to the Mexican Riviera, the Panama Canal, Coastal California cruises, and sailings to Bermuda. If you book early enough, you stand a better chance at grabbing a deal on an affordable stateroom.

Disney offers something else that’s hard to come by on most ships: an intangible whimsy. Maybe it’s the clever use of the “hidden Mickeys” worked into the ship’s decor, or the genuinely friendly staff and crew who make everyone feel welcomed. Or catching a glimpse of Captain Mickey on the Promenade Deck. Or walking into the soaring atrium, down the sweeping staircase, for a grand entrance that’s fit for cinema.

All of this is wrapped up in a package that is kid-friendly, but equally mindful of the adults that are paying the way. I know adults that don’t have kids, and don’t really want kids, that sail with Disney year after year because the line’s adult offerings are so good. And, much like Disneyland, you’re powerless to resist its charms.

Happy cruising.

Visit Portsandbows.com, sponsored by Expedia CruiseShipCenters, 1-800-410-4744, www.cruise.center, for daily updates on the latest cruise news, best deals and behind-the-scenes stories from the industry. You can also sign up for an email newsletter on the site for even more cruise information. Aaron Saunders may be contacted directly at portsandbowsaaron@gmail.com

Many families will escape winter this month, loading minivans to tour the big city or heading somewhere warm. Before embarking on a week of driving, fast food and disposable hotel amenities, consider your eco-impact. Leaving home doesn’t have to leave a big footprint.

Thinking green isn’t always easy when the kids are squabbling in the back seat. But it can also save you time and money, which justifies a little extra planning. As seasoned voyagers (we’re on the road a lot for work), let us be your travel agents for a trip that also gives the planet a break.

So you’ve selected your destination. How are you getting there? If it’s not too far, take a train. Riding the train from Toronto to Montreal, for instance, generates half the emissions of a car trip. And the kids won’t be strapped to a seat the whole time within poking reach of each other.

If you’re hitting the skies, try to fly non-stop. One-quarter of a plane’s greenhouse emissions happen during takeoff and landing. Splurging on a non-stop flight is worth it if it buys you more beach time (and also reduces pollution). And if you hate the red-eye, you’ll love this: daytime flights have less climate impact than overnighters according to the David Suzuki Foundation.

Next up, your hotel checklist: room with a view, close to attractions — and sustainable. Websites such as greenseal.org and greenkeyglobal.com can help find the best hotels for energy efficiency or recycling efforts. Or skip the hotel and use a home-sharing app, which gives you greater control over energy use (and temperature control). With a full kitchen you can cook your own food to reduce waste and save money.

Riding a train generates half the emissions of a car trip [Getty Images]

Time to get packing. Ask yourself, “Do I really need this?” Lighter luggage will save muscle aches and airplane fuel. Every kilo counts. American Airlines saved US$1 million a year in fuel just by replacing heavy paper flight manuals with ipads. Fewer items of clothing means less time deciding what to wear — and fewer loads of laundry when you’re home.

“This is your captain speaking, we’ve reached cruising altitude and the cabin crew are bringing out the snack carts.” Let it pass. With all those peanut packages and disposable cups, the average passenger generates one kilogram of garbage. Bring your own snacks — without disposable wrappers — healthier for you and the environment.

You’ve finally arrived. Where to first? Wherever you’re going, use public transportation instead of a cab. Better yet, walk or rent a bike — it’s cheaper, great exercise, and you can take in the sights and culture at a leisurely pace.

Before you head home, grab some souvenirs for the folks back home. Or not. Does Grandma really need a tacky snow globe? Instead, get together afterwards to show her pictures. She’ll appreciate the company much more than another plastic knick-knack.

Craig and Marc Kielburger are the co-founders of theWE movement,which includes WE Charity, ME to WE Social Enterprise and WE Day. For more dispatches from WE, check out WE Stories.

]]>http://o.canada.com/life/global-voices-tips-for-a-green-march-break/feed0March BreakcraigkielburgerPop Forecast for March 12: Tomb Raider, For the People and morehttp://o.canada.com/entertainment/pop-forecast-for-march-12-tomb-raider-for-the-people-and-more
http://o.canada.com/entertainment/pop-forecast-for-march-12-tomb-raider-for-the-people-and-more#respondMon, 12 Mar 2018 21:06:10 +0000http://o.canada.com/?p=767085“You don’t need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows,” Bob Dylan sang. But these days, a guide through the seemingly endless flurry of pop culture offerings is just what we need. With that in mind, here is what’s on the radar screen in TV, music and film for the coming week.

• MOVIES

Big Release on March 16: Tomb Raider

Big Picture: Alicia Vikander is… Lara Croft, Tomb Raider. The acclaimed Swedish actress takes over the role from Angelina Jolie and the franchise is set to unearth new riches at the box office. It’s like when the Bond franchise moved from Pierce Brosnan to Daniel Craig: Vikander’s Croft is darker, grittier and more believable — much less a video-game fantasy come to life. In this origin story, an aimless, 21-year-old Croft abandons her work as a bike courier to head into “the heart of the Devil’s Sea” in search of her missing adventurer father and his legacy. Not only does she discover her inner Indiana Jones, she learns her dad was trying to stop an evil organization called Trinity, which is bent on unleashing global genocide. Jumping is one of Lara’s main tactics at countering this threat: jumping off sinking ships into oceans, jumping off cliffs into river rapids, jumping into waterfalls, jumping across rocky gorges … jumping into gunfights with nothing but a bow and arrows. Miraculously, she does all this wearing the same tank grey, muddied tank top. And, yes, as the series’ name intones, the climax to the film plays out in a mythical, island tomb.

Forecast: “Her legend begins,” the film intones. Indeed. And Vikander needs a franchise to occupy her time in between Oscar-calibre dramas. (As of this writing, Disney doesn’t own Lara Croft. But give it time. It already owns Indiana Jones through its George Lucas deal. I predict an epic cross-over in the next decade.)

Big Picture: First, a new legal drama from Shonda Rhimes —and Scandal writer Paul William Davies — promises “a new generation of justice.” It focuses on a young crop of district attorneys and defenders squaring of in a famous New York federal court. It’s been hyped as “Grey’s Anatomy in a court room.” And you know what that means. Rules will be broken, morals will be preached, moral lines will be crossed and pants will be removed. The ensemble cast includes Hope Davis and Britt Robertson.

Meanwhile, Rise is Glee meets Dangerous Minds (minus the danger) meets Friday Night Lights (minus most of the football). Producer Jason Katims was behind the acclaimed series Friday Night Lights and Parenthood. Based on an adaptation of Michael Sokolove’s book Drama High, Josh Radnor (How I Met Your Mother) plays a high school teacher in a small U.S. town who launches a giant musical production in the middle of football country. The expected ragtag teenage group of misfits, lost souls and dreamers find themselves on stage — including the school’s star footballer. Rosie Perez also co-stars in a series about the power that the creative arts have to change lives.

Finally, Instinct is about a former, secret CIA agent turned academic (Alan Cumming) who is enticed back into the field after a serial killer is inspired by his famous criminal-theory book: Freaks. Dr. Dylan Reinhart is like Richard Castle with skills beyond typing and flirting. His new partner, naturally, is a non-nonsense female New York City cop (Bojana Novakovic). Naveen Andrews (Lost) and Whoopi Goldberg play strong supporting roles in this series adapted from a novel by James Patterson.

Forecast: Rise is one drama that will shine under the spotlight. As for Instinct and For the People, I have one question: When will we stop making series about doctors, cops and firemen and highlight some other professions? Where are the accountants, the fishermen, the seamstresses, the farmers, the cab drivers, the bakers and so on? (More important, which network will take a chance on my pilot script, Going Postal, about the canine-infested, competitive, rain-soaked world of a postal carrier who also happens to be in an exhausting love octagon with various woman in the same neighborhood — including the wife of a villainous courier service executive. Oh, and did I mention the postman is an ex-firefighter, ex-doctor and ex-CIA who just wanted to lead a quiet life delivering parcels?)

Big Picture: Snoop Dogg releases a gospel album. Enough said. Meanwhile, STP release its first album under newly crowned lead vocalist Jeff Gutt. Gutt is best known for his two-season stint on The X Factor. Speaking of ex factors, for most music fans the Stone Temple Pilots will always be the late Scott Weiland. It doesn’t matter how many new vocalists cycle through the roster. In a statement, the band said, “the best way for us to honour our past is to keep making new music.” Agreed. But under a new band name. (How about Stone Temple Conductors or Stone Temple Tugboat Captains?) Meanwhile, Portland indie-darling’s The Decemberists explore new soundscapes — from 1980s synth to punk — on their eighth studio effort. Colin Meloy’s eccentric, literary lyrics remain some of the best in the business no matter what the musical backdrop.

Forecast: Decemberists, along with Canadian indie outfit July Talk, will start a new trend of month-inspired bands. (Februarians or Octoberisms, anyone?) On a side note, I mentioned Snoop Dogg has gone gospel, right?

]]>http://o.canada.com/entertainment/pop-forecast-for-march-12-tomb-raider-for-the-people-and-more/feed0Alicia Vikander as Lara Croft in Tomb Raiderpostmedianews1Rise - Season 1Snoop DoggIndigenous tattoos explored in new series Skindigenoushttp://o.canada.com/entertainment/television/indigenous-tattoos-explored-in-new-series-skindigenous
http://o.canada.com/entertainment/television/indigenous-tattoos-explored-in-new-series-skindigenous#respondMon, 12 Mar 2018 19:46:02 +0000http://o.canada.com/?p=767076A picture may be worth a thousand words but for many Indigenous people, a tattoo can convey your whole genealogical story. Skindigenous, a new docu-series airing Tuesdays on APTN, explores tattooing traditions around the world and how they’ve merged ancient and modern techniques.

With stops in the Philippines, Samoa, Hawaii, New Zealand and Mexico — as well as Canadian destinations such as British Columbia, Alberta and Newfoundland — the series visits various tattoo artists who are shaping their art with symbols and traditions unique to their cultures.

Skindigenous []

“This crest belongs to the Eagle/Shark Woosh Kee Taan clan in Angoon, Alaska. The design was created by David R. Boxley, a Tsimshian from Metlakatla, Alaska,” says First Nations fine artist Nakkita Trimble, who’s based in B.C.

“I was given permission to hand-poke tattoo this crest on this client. There was a set of protocols that went into the designing and tattooing this House Crest; the wearer of this crest has been represented accurately following the protocol of his Nation.”

Skindigenous []

“Each tattoo is a unique creation and bears on the individual’s personal experience and family history. The Hawaiian tattoo tradition that (tattoo artist Keone Nunes) practices includes a large number of recurrent designs, motifs and symbols that pack genealogical, geographical and historical information. These designs can only be placed on Native Hawaiians,” says Jean-François Martel, the director of the Hawaii episode.

“On the other hand, Hawaiian tattoos can also incorporate a number of noa designs, which are non-genealogical symbols that hold a more spiritual function. These can be placed on the body of non-Hawaiians and Hawaiians alike.”

Martel says rows of black triangles are called niho niho, which symbolize sharks’ teeth and have protective function. A row is seen on the right side of the foot (pictured above right) and four rows are in the centre of the shoulder (pictured above centre).

Skindigenous []

“Traditional Inuit tattoos were a rite of passage or to mark an event — womanhood, marriage, giving birth, first seal hunt. They were also a form of protection, like carrying your ancestors with you,” says Sonia Bonspille Boileau, the director of the Alaska episode.

“Some tattoos were simply adornments. Now these tattoos are mostly to affirm a strong sense of pride in one’s Inuit identity. Strong Inuit women proud of wearing who they are on their skin.”

Skindigenous airs Tuesdays, APTN

]]>http://o.canada.com/entertainment/television/indigenous-tattoos-explored-in-new-series-skindigenous/feed0Toronto tattoo artist Jay Soule in Skindigenousmhank2012SkindigenousSkindigenousSkindigenousSilversea liner’s refit will increase passenger capacity, add featureshttp://o.canada.com/travel/ports-and-bows/silversea-liners-refit-will-increase-passenger-capacity-add-features
http://o.canada.com/travel/ports-and-bows/silversea-liners-refit-will-increase-passenger-capacity-add-features#respondFri, 09 Mar 2018 22:44:46 +0000http://o.canada.com/?p=767067One of my all-time favourite cruise ships will be getting a makeover by the time you read this. Ultra-luxury line Silversea (cruise.center/silversea) is sending its 540-guest Silver Spirit back to the shipyard in Italy, where she will be cut in half in order to receive a brand new, 49-foot (14.9-metre) long midsection that will increase her overall length to 691 feet (210.6 m) and extend her guest capacity to 608.

The changes are being done to bring the 2009-built Silver Spirit in line with her newer fleetmate, the 596-guest Silver Muse, which entered service last spring.

“Based on the wonderful feedback from guests sailing aboard our beautiful Silver Muse, we believe the comprehensive makeover we have planned for Silver Spirit will enrich the onboard experience and be equally appreciated by guests. They will see many of Silver Muse’s innovations and elevated comforts embodied by our reimagined Silver Spirit,” says Christian Sauleau, executive vice-president of fleet operations for Silversea.

Silver Spirit entered dry dock at Fincantieri’s shipyard in Palermo on March 5, and she will remain there until May 1, with her first post-dry dock revenue cruise taking place on May 6 from Civitavecchia, the port for Rome. While lengthening ships isn’t new, it is a process that is relatively rare for the luxury industry, and a technological first for Silversea.

When Silver Spirit emerges, she will have 34 new luxury suites, as well as a commanding Balsorano Suite, named after Silversea’s chairman, Manfredi Lefebvre d’Ovidio di Balsorano de Clunieres. This super-sized suite features items from his personal collection, and can be booked as either a one-bedroom suite with 1,292 square feet (120 square metres) of space; or with the adjoining Panorama Suite for a combined 1,668 square feet (155 square metres).

The ship’s existing suites will receive new HD interactive televisions and hand-crafted Savoir beds, along with a sprucing up of soft furnishings.

Plenty of other changes are in store for this attractive ship. La Terrazza, Silversea’s casual buffet eatery and nightly Italian dining venue, will be expanded to include the area formerly occupied by Star’s Supper Club. The latter will be renamed Silver Note, taking up an enlarged residence on Deck 8 that used to be occupied by the long-forgotten Casino. The Casino will be scaled down and moved to Deck 7, taking the place of the former library and internet café.

Deck 8 will also house the fabulous new Arts Café that debuted last year aboard Silver Muse. Offering up lattes, light bites and plenty of atmosphere, the Arts Café will be a welcome addition aboard Silver Spirit.

Big changes are also coming to the ship’s main restaurant, which will be removed and redesigned into two smaller venues known as Indochine and Atlantide. Like their counterparts aboard Silver Muse, these new dining spaces on Silver Spirit will also feature their own dedicated bars for pre- and post-dinner cocktails. The Japanese-inspired Seishin and the Relais and Chateaux dining venue Le Champagne still remain, though the latter’s name will be changed to La Dame.

I’ve always enjoyed sailing aboard Silver Spirit. It’s a luxury ship that’s big enough to offer more space and amenities than most, yet still small enough that nothing ever feels overly crowded. The lone exception to this has always been The Bar on Deck 5, which will be expanded during this refit and renamed Dolce Vita. That’s a good thing: cocktail hours could get positively competitive in this attractive space. No word yet on whether Silversea will keep the bar’s existing Art Deco-themed interior decor.

Once her refit is complete, Silver Spirit will once again be “top dog” in the Silversea fleet. Just seven feet shorter than Silver Muse, she will be the largest ship in the fleet by passenger capacity when she returns to service in May. But don’t expect Silversea’s stellar levels of service to slip; her crew will increase from 376 to 412 persons to keep pace with the increase in passenger capacity.

Silver Spirit’s week-long cruise starting May 6 from Civitavecchia (for Rome) to Barcelona will include ports of call at Porto-Vecchio, Corsica; Livorno; Portofino; Cannes; and Marseilles.

With Silversea now offering prices in Canadian dollars, it’s the best time to try out this revitalized favourite.

Happy cruising.

Visit Portsandbows.com, sponsored by Expedia CruiseShipCenters, 1-800-410-4744, www.cruise.center, for daily updates on the latest cruise news, best deals and behind-the-scenes stories from the industry. You can also sign up for an email newsletter on the site for even more cruise information. Aaron Saunders may be contacted directly at portsandbowsaaron@gmail.com

]]>http://o.canada.com/travel/ports-and-bows/silversea-liners-refit-will-increase-passenger-capacity-add-features/feed0silverspirit_aerial_extaaronpsaundersBig Brother Canada returns thanks to fans’ supporthttp://o.canada.com/entertainment/television/big-brother-canada-returns-thanks-to-fans-support
http://o.canada.com/entertainment/television/big-brother-canada-returns-thanks-to-fans-support#respondTue, 06 Mar 2018 21:04:25 +0000http://o.canada.com/?p=767041Big Brother is watching you, and apparently you’re watching Big Brother — obsessively so. The Canadian edition of the reality show is back for a sixth season after fans protested its cancellation last June.

Debuting on Wednesday on Global and airing subsequent Wednesdays, Thursdays and Mondays, Big Brother Canada will sequester 14 strangers in a camera-filled house as they use strategy and gameplay to win. (Fans will continue to vote online until Thursday for two last-minute gatecrashers to join the house.)

At stake: a grand prize of $100,000, a European vacation for two courtesy of Air Transat, and a $30,000 home makeover from The Brick.

Host Arisa Cox previews the new season of the Canadian Screen Award nominated series.

Q What was your reaction when the show was cancelled?

A I remember hearing the news that it wasn’t coming back, and I immediately slipped into gratitude — that’s just the kind of person I am. The glass was half full because we had five seasons of incredible television. I remember after season 1 saying, “OK this is crazy. But give me five years and I’ll be over the moon.” But the fans, they were like, “Not on our watch.”

Q Why are the fans are so passionate?

A There are people who like TV, there are people who are fans of particular shows, and then there’s the Big Brother fandom. The most loyal, dedicated, brilliant, hilarious people watch this show. Your favourite reality show that’s on once a week is just that — it’s on once a week for an hour and it’s great. But our show has three full shows a week, plus a 24-hour live feed, which means that people have a very different connection with the people on our show. They feel it more. When your favourite is in trouble, it’s a big deal. When your fave is doing well, it’s a huge deal.

Arisa Cox hosts Big Brother Canada []

Q What can viewers expect this season?

A This is the season that the fans demanded. We are going back to what Big Brother is at its core, which is a social experiment — putting strangers together, and seeing how they interact and use their skills to get ahead in the game. And in that, there’s always this struggle between good and evil. Do you back-stab your best friend in the game to get ahead? Can you have a showmance but keep it soulless and be all about the game? You’re going to see that reflected in the house, the challenges and some of the twists.

Q What to you makes the Canadian version unique?

A We’re the newer Big Brother on the block. Most countries got their Big Brothers five, 10, 15 years ago. So we’ve got something to prove, and I don’t think it’s necessarily a bad thing. We have such world-class talent in all aspects — in the production of the show, the people who are on the show, art direction and challenges. And then on top of that, because we were late to come into the Big Brother universe, we were able to pull some of the best aspects from different Big Brothers around the world.

So while our format is the U.S. style — how evictions work, etc. — some of the character of our show recalls the U.K. version much more. They’re the ones who do tasks that end up being really funny or really emotional

In the U.K. version, you’re not allowed to talk about strategy. People nominate, but the country evicts people. Whereas in the U.S., it’s always in the game, and it’s all about strategy.

Q How would you fare on the show?

A I like to say that I’d be either the first out or I’m making it to the final two. I have a really good head for the game, and I got an education pretty quick. That’s what attracted me to Big Brother — all the psychological elements that make up gameplay and strategy. But I’m always here for the comedy, and I love emotional moments as well — these are things that aren’t workshopped in a writing room.

As much as it’s a superficial environment, for the people who are in the game, that’s their real life. The people who end up being fan favourites are the people who are the most authentic. Every psychology and sociology 101 class should be taught this in school, because it’s fascinating to watch and I can’t wait to see how it turns out.

Big Brother Canada debuts Wednesday, March 7, Global

]]>http://o.canada.com/entertainment/television/big-brother-canada-returns-thanks-to-fans-support/feed0Big Brother Canada -- Season 6mhank2012Arisa Cox hosts Big Brother CanadaGlobal Voices: We must do better in highlighting women’s voiceshttp://o.canada.com/life/global-voices-we-must-do-better-in-highlighting-womens-voices
http://o.canada.com/life/global-voices-we-must-do-better-in-highlighting-womens-voices#respondTue, 06 Mar 2018 07:58:42 +0000http://o.canada.com/?p=767001Last month, science writer Ed Yong announced in The Atlantic that he’d spent two years consciously trying to level the gender balance in his stories, ensuring the sources he spoke with represented the whole talent pool. We write frequently about diversity and wondered about our own grade on this scale.

So we checked the numbers going back to the start of 2017. Our study wasn’t scientific, like Yong’s (just us tallying names), but the results are in: We could do better.

Just under 40 per cent of the sources we spoke to over the past 14 months were women. That’s 10 per cent above the national average, according to Shari Graydon, founder of the Ottawa-based nonprofit Informed Opinions, whose goal is to elevate women’s voices in media. In print and on TV, in newsrooms and in the stories they chase, men invariably take up more space. Women spend less time on camera and receive fewer column inches. Men not only hold the power of the pen — they are also turned to more frequently for expertise or soundbites, accounting for 70 per cent of all people quoted in news articles, on TV and radio in Canada.

The face you see bringing you your news most nights is likely a man’s, that’s easy to spot. But so is the person who prepared his notes. And the expert he’s interviewing to add context to the story.

We use our column to shed light on issues that are important to us — equality preeminent among them. But that isn’t enough. We have to reach out to more voices.

Culturally, we are at a tipping point.

Even more than the numbers Graydon shared with us, what struck us is the types of stories women are usually left out of: science, business and international relations’ pieces. It’s as if there aren’t women among the leaders in gene-editing research, on the cusp of human rights law or championing sustainable business practices.

With #MeToo sweeping across Hollywood and Washington and #TimesUp expanding the movement to other industries that rarely see the spotlight, what’s at stake here is hard to ignore. These are extreme cases of women’s voices and experiences that have been historically and categorically ignored. Culturally, we are at a tipping point.

We can extend this energy to TV screens and cinemas, to the newspapers, family bookshelves and dinner tables across the country. We can read more women writers, watch more women directors.

And we can take personal responsibility — something we’re doing right now.

We are two white men and it would be easy for us to rely on experts and sources who share our complexion and our privilege. But that’s not how we grow. And it’s certainly not how we build a more representative and fair country.

We thought we’d done our part by writing about important issues that matter to both women and men. But just as much as the subjects we tackle, the perspectives we include matter.

“Passive support is not enough,” Graydon told us in a phrase that will continue to motivate our efforts. “If you’re not paying attention, you’re not going to change.”

International Women’s Day is March 8. No better time to start paying attention.

Craig and Marc Kielburger are the co-founders of the WE movement, which includes WE Charity, ME to WE Social Enterprise and WE Day. For more dispatches from WE, check out WE Stories.

]]>http://o.canada.com/life/global-voices-we-must-do-better-in-highlighting-womens-voices/feed0A woman stands surrounded by men at thecraigkielburgerRocky Mountain Railroad spotlights extreme passagewayshttp://o.canada.com/entertainment/television/rocky-mountain-railroad-spotlights-extreme-passageways
http://o.canada.com/entertainment/television/rocky-mountain-railroad-spotlights-extreme-passageways#respondMon, 05 Mar 2018 19:38:05 +0000http://o.canada.com/?p=767031You might not be working on the railroad all the live long day, but those who do aren’t just there to pass the time away. Some have deadly serious work to do, and viewers can get an up-close look at the harrowing conditions on Rocky Mountain Railroad, a new docuseries debuting Monday on Discovery.

In it, the camera zooms in on a crew that battles avalanches, giant icicles, rockslides and dangerous wildlife to keep Canada’s critical freight and passenger trains chugging along during winter.

The eight-part series features the coast-to-coast Canadian Pacific Railroad and the Ontario Northland Railroad. Below, some facts about the extreme art of wintertime railroad work:

• Every day Canadian Pacific’s 12,000-plus employees work to keep their fleet of 1,000 freight trains going.

• CP rail officers have the same power as Canadian police. They can arrest people and detain those who are a danger to themselves or the tracks.

• Avalanches can take out whole swaths of forest. They can travel up to 300 km/h and weigh several tonnes. • One cubic metre of ice weighs nearly a ton, meaning ice columns next to a railroad could derail a train or break a rail.

• British Columbia’s Connaught Tunnel was built after 50 workers died from an avalanche in the early 1900s. At eight kilometres long, it’s the longest tunnel in North America and cuts through Mt. Mcdonald.

• At -25 C, train lengths need to be shortened, so cold weather is actually more challenging than snow. • Ninety-five per cent of grain exports in Canada travel by rail. One cart of grain can be worth as much as $30,000.

• Ontario Northland Railway is one of the last flag trains in Canada. This means it will pick up passengers that flag them down as they make their way to or from Moosonee, Ont. ONR transports people and cargo, including kittens, ATVs, construction materials, hunting gear and even coffins.

• A broken-down locomotive can cause massive delays and cost thousands of dollars. Locomotive engines can hold up to 15,000 gallons of fuel.

“You don’t need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows,” Bob Dylan sang. But these days, a guide through the seemingly endless flurry of pop culture offerings is just what we need. With that in mind, here is what’s on the radar screen in TV, music and film for the coming week.

MOVIES

Big releases on March 9: A Wrinkle in Time; The Strangers: Prey at Night.

Big picture: A Wrinkle in Time is about kids who journey into space in search of their lost scientist father. Oprah plays an all-powerful guide named Mrs. Which — imagine a cross between Yoda, a Fairy Godmother and Aslan. This one is based on the best-selling 1962 novel by Madeleine L’Engle. It’s essentially The Neverending Story meets Interstellar meets … Did I mention Oprah is essentially a light goddess? Along with co-stars Mindy Kaling and Reese Witherspoon (somebody really needs to start a new religion based on this premise).

The long and short of it, it’s possible to travel to other planets via the fifth dimension, which naturally exists “outside the rules of what we know about time and space.” The lost father is trapped by an evil energy, and the youngsters must become warriors to defeat it — mainly because Oprah, Mindy and Reese are too busy talking about cosmic mumbo jumbo to do any dirty work.

Meanwhile, The Strangers sequel features a new family being terrorized by psychopathic strangers, this time in a seemingly abandoned trailer park. “You can run, you can hide or you can fight … like hell” is the tagline. Bottom line: Any movie with a trailer that features a horror-scene montage to the backdrop of Tiffany’s I Think We’re Alone Know is beyond my ability to criticize.

Forecast: First a media empire and a magazine, now a goddess … and a potential presidential candidate? It’s Oprah’s universe, apparently. We only live in it.

Big picture: Champions is a promising new sitcom from The Mindy Project’s Mindy Kaling (apparently taking a time away from deity duties to write and produce). It centres on two alpha, eternally single brothers — Matthew and Vince — the latter who own “the fifth largest gym in Brooklyn.” They are obsessed with women and working out. But their lives are changed forever when an ex-girlfriend (Kaling in a recurring role) drops off the gay teenage son of Vince.

Suddenly, they have a new roommate and new responsibilities. It’s like Full House meets Two and a Half Men meets My Two Dads meets … better writing. This kid is full of deadpan one-liners and barbs. Sample zinger on his new-found dad: “Your life is sad; you look like the abusive boyfriend in a Lifetime movie.”

Meanwhile, Deception is about a magician (illusionist and escape artist!) who inexplicably becomes a consultant for the FBI and is paired with a beautiful, skeptical agent. Did I mention he is smarmy, cocky and sarcastic? It’s like Castle meets … err … Castle.

Finally, in case you care, American Idol is back on a new network; Ryan Seacrest is back as host; Lionel Richie takes over as the standard “Crazy, what will they say next?” judge alongside Katy Perry and Luke Bryan.

Forecast: Champions is a worthy contender for your attention.

Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats []

MUSIC

Big releases on March 9: Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats (Tearing at the Seams); Of Montreal (White Is Relic/Irrealis Mood).

Big picture: Of Montreal delivers more soon-to-be critically acclaimed, but highly experimental pop. You know you’re not gunning for chart-topping success when your first single is titled Paranoiac Intervals/Body Dysmorphia.

Meanwhile, the Night Sweats will be with you until the morning comes with another addictive, stuck-in-your-head album of soul rock. The Denver group’s sophomore effort picks up where their acclaimed debut left off: You uncontrollably moving your body to a modern take on old-school rhythm and blues.

Forecast: The sonic seams of The Night Sweats show no signs of tearing.

I’ve been to Cuba a lot lately. As the hottest cruise destination in the Caribbean, I’m eager to see what each individual line offers travellers in Cuba. This time, Holland America Line’s (cruise.center/holland) gracious, 1,350-guest Veendam served as my base of exploration.

Holland America Line began offering cruises to Cuba back in December, sailing round-trip aboard Veendam from Fort Lauderdale, Fla. The itinerary I was on combined an extended call on Havana with port stops in Cienfuegos and Georgetown, Grand Cayman. It’s a unique itinerary that offers plenty of opportunities for exploration.

A wide variety of tours are offered in Havana and Cienfuegos as part of the line’s Explorations Central (EXC) excursions. These in-depth adventures are full-day tours that comply with the United States’ People-to-People regulations. I wish every cruise destination offered tours that were as good as these. While they are on the expensive side (most run between $100 and $150 per person), they offer culturally immersive experiences that would be hard to come by otherwise.

In Havana, my culinary tour introduced us to intricacies of enjoying good Cuban coffee, appreciating Cuban rum, mixing your own mojito and, finally, smoking a Cuban cigar. We were then treated to lunch at the striking Teatro de La Habana (The Great Theatre of Havana) accompanied by live music, followed by a walking tour of Old Havana. In the evening, a visit to the legendary Tropicana cabaret did not disappoint, and I — along with as most of my fellow guests — returned well after one in the morning, just in time for Veendam to set sail.

Cienfuegos provided the chance to explore this alluring seaside town, or to venture further afar to the historic city of Trinidad, or inland, to Santa Clara to see the tomb and Mausoleum of Ernesto (Che) Guevara.

Most cruise lines call on either Havana or Cienfuegos. Holland America has the distinct advantage of calling on both Cuban ports. And after two busy days of exploration, the stop in Grand Cayman provided a much-needed beach day for guests.

As for Veendam, I’d forgotten how much I enjoyed sailing aboard this intimate Holland America ship. Built in 1996 and refitted throughout the intervening years, Veendam still offers up a classic cruise experience that just can’t be replicated aboard ships carrying four or five thousand passengers. You’re not going to find brash, in-your-face entertainment on board, but rather enriching days filled with lectures and trivia on Cuba and its history along with cooking classes, presentations, and nights bookended by live music, cigars and cognac under the stars (appropriate for Cuba), and classic dining experiences.

One of the best new features onboard was Rudi’s Sel de Mer, a pop-up restaurant that overtakes the elegant Pinnacle Grill specialty dining venue for one evening. Curated by Holland America’s master chef Rudi Sodamin, this seafood-themed brasserie is one of the best dining experiences I’ve had on any ship. For real wow factor, order the Salt Crust Baked Branzino, which is duly trotted out and presented to you raw, then covered in its salt crust enclosure and finally as a delectable dish ready to eat.

All of this is overseen by Veendam’s friendly crew, currently headed up by Capt. Colm Ryan and hotel manager Frank Ulbricht. Holland America’s service is legendary, and its primarily Indonesian and Filipino crew members are as likely to greet you with a smile as they are to remember your name and your favourite drink.

If you’re interested in sailing to Cuba with Holland America, the line is sending Veendam on some of the most creative Cuban itineraries out there. These include spectacular Summer Cuba sailings departing round-trip from Boston on June 23 and Aug. 4 that last two weeks in duration and pair calls on Havana and Cienfuegos with stops in Grand Cayman, Ocho Rios and Half Moon Cay — Holland America Line’s private island in the Bahamas.

This fall, Veendam returns to Fort Lauderdale to operate a series of 10- to 12-day Cuban Explorer” cruises, starting in October and running through to March 2019. These itineraries vary quite a bit and offer a mix of Western and Eastern Caribbean ports of call, along with stops in Cienfuegos and Havana.

Happy cruising.

Visit Portsandbows.com, sponsored by Expedia CruiseShipCenters, 1-800-410-4744,www.cruise.center, for daily updates on the latest cruise news, best deals and behind-the-scenes stories from the industry. You can also sign up for an email newsletter on the site for even more cruise information. Aaron Saunders may be contacted directly at portsandbowsaaron@gmail.com

Nasty weather can be a mood changer. Those of us who have been dealing with repeated bouts of heavy snow and freezing rain this winter can be forgiven if all we want to do is curl up under a quilt, in front of the TV or with a book in hand. (Unless, of course, we’re skiers, skaters or Olympic athletes obsessed with winter sports.)

What better way to lift one’s spirits, when the weather outside is dreary, than to think pink and share a wonderful picture book with the youngster(s) in our home? Tundra Books has two titles that will keep any reader (or listener), in the pink on those grey days.

The Pink Umbrella, by France’s Amélie Callot and illustrated by Montreal’s Geneviève Godbout, is the story of Adele, who runs a popular café in a picturesque coastal village. Her customers see Adele as “the village’s sun — lively, sweet and sparkling.” But not when it rains, because Adele does NOT like rain. On grey rainy days, she “loses her spirit” and stays inside; sometimes she shuts the café, curls up in her quilt, and waits for the sun.

On Wednesdays, her friend Lucas sets up a stall of fruit and vegetables in the café, transforming it into a marketplace for the villagers, who arrive en masse. On one sunny Wednesday, when the place finally empties and Adele is cleaning up, she finds a pair of pink boots next to the coat rack — beautiful pink boots in her size, with a sun carved in each sole. No one knows who they belong to. The mystery grows in subsequent weeks, with the sudden appearance of a pink coat and then a pink umbrella. In solving the mystery, Adele discovers that a rainy day can be a source of joy after all — especially when it’s shared with a friend.

The translation by Lara Hinchberger reads beautifully, and Godbout’s illustrations, in pastels and coloured pencils, have an appealing sophistication.

First published in French, by Les Éditions de la Pastèque, the translation by Lara Hinchberger reads beautifully, and Godbout’s illustrations, in pastels and coloured pencils, have an appealing sophistication. The book is aimed at ages six to nine, but adults — especially those who may be reminded of the film Amélie, are bound to be just as charmed by Adele and her friend Lucas.

Bloom: A Story of Fashion Designer Elsa Schiaparelli, by Kyo Maclear and Julie Morstad, is aimed at the same young ages but, again, will also appeal to an older demographic — especially those with an interest in fashion and illustration. Morstad, a Vancouver-based artist, and Maclear, a Toronto-based author, collaborated on an earlier biography — Julia, Child — about a girl who is not particularly mainstream but goes on to make a groundbreaking name for herself in the culinary arts.

This time, the duo turns its attention to Elsa, a child who grew up in Italy in the shadow of her more beautiful sister and with judgmental parents who saw little value in her existence. Instead of feeling sorry for herself, she focused on the colours and beauty of Rome and let them spark her imagination, eventually growing into an artist and a woman who created garments that other women longed to wear. Pink plays a role in this book, too, since Schiaparelli is credited with inventing a shade called Shocking Pink that became her signature colour.

We had to recognize that we are coming from a position of privilege, that there’s a history of lived experience that is not our experience.

To gain some perspective, we spoke with youth from the black community. These young people said that black history is much more than slavery. They made the connection between racism today and the blank spots in textbooks, and argued that Black History Month needs more Canada.

Petra Owusu was “floating” through high school in Windsor, Ont. “Post-secondary education just wasn’t in the future for me,” she says.

Then she joined an African studies class, part of a special history curriculum developed by the Greater Essex County School Board. She was inspired by stories she’d never heard before — remarkable historic figures like escaped slave and abolitionist Frederick Douglass. “Learning that there are black people who were successful showed me that I could be successful.”

Now 22, Owusu is studying history at the University of Windsor.

“It’s all about recognizing the role we’ve had, to see the potential we have,” adds Joel Ndongmi, 17, from Toronto. He feels empowered learning about the contributions of black Canadians in shaping our nation. He mentions escaped slaves and abolitionists Josiah Henson and Henry Bibb.

Henry Bibb, the first black newspaper editor in the U.S. []

Discovering pre-colonial black history and the vibrant cultures that thrived throughout Africa, he says, is just as empowering. Most Canadians probably don’t know that in the heart of Zimbabwe sits a 900-year-old stone fortress, as formidable as any European Castle — once the capital of a vast kingdom.

When her Toronto school put on a play about Viola Desmond, who in 1946 refused to give up her seat in a whites-only section of a Halifax theatre, 16-year-old Ola Olusegun had an epiphany. “I was surprised and shocked to learn that there was slavery and segregation here. Canadians know Canada as the country of freedom.”

Maybe it shouldn’t be surprising that Olusegun didn’t know.

All of the youth identified that there isn’t enough Canadian content in our black history. “Since Grade 1, every Black History Month I learn about the same American heroes, like Martin Luther King and Rosa Parks,” says Esmirandah Ampong, 16.

The youth we spoke with say Canada tends to gloss over the other side of its history, seeing segregation and slavery as exclusively American problems. That knowledge gap affects the racism they encounter in their daily lives.

“People say Canada is the most accepting, but I’ve personally experienced racism. Not knowing our history stops people from realizing we have our own issues here,” says Bilal Mohamed, 18.

When asked what message they would give Canadians this month, a common theme emerged: Use it as a launch point for continued learning. “Take an hour out of each weekend and learn about the history of another culture,” says 23-year-old university student Siena Browning-Morgan.

Azieb Kidanu, 13, agrees: “It’s really good to have a month that pays attention to black history, but it’s even better to have a whole year.”

Craig and Marc Kielburger are the co-founders of theWE movement,which includes WE Charity, ME to WE Social Enterprise and WE Day. For more dispatches from WE, check out WE Stories.

“You don’t need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows,” Bob Dylan sang. But these days, a guide through the seemingly endless flurry of pop culture offerings is just what we need. With that in mind, here is what’s on the radar screen in TV, music and film for the coming week.

MOVIES

Big releases on March 2: Death Wish

Big picture: Yes, I was hoping this Bruce Willis vehicle was a surprise sequel to The Sixth Sense. Sadly, no. In an era of American machismo and endless gun violence, did we really need to remake Charles Bronson’s 1974 vigilante classic? Willis plays a surgeon whose wife and daughter are viciously attacked at home, which of course spurs him on to an epic crusade of vigilante justice. It’s Falling Down meets Batman meets Robin Hood (minus the merry), and this flick is chalk full of eerie lines like, “I want to buy a gun” and “If a man really wants to protect what’s his, he has to do it for himself” and “Someone has to do it.”

Forecast: Willis never shoots blanks; he is at his box-office best when he dies hard and kills often.

Big picture: First, AMC airs a BBC-produced crime saga about a young, handsome banker forced to turn “gangster” after being dragged into his extended family’s international crime business. The always excellent David Strathairn shines brightest in an sinisterly sublime cast. “Wars are fought in board rooms, not on the streets,” one character intones. Indeed. Meanwhile, Living Biblically is a sitcom that promises just that — a semi-shady dad (Jay R. Ferguson) who goes old school — as in Old Testament commandments — in a “soul cleanse” to get his life back on track. Based on Esquire editor A.J. Jacobs’s book, The Year of Living Biblically, this one promises comedic moments like said dad being forced to throw a stone at an adulterous work colleague dining out with his mistress. I guarantee there will also be reoccurring “you shall not covet your neighbour’s wife” jokes. M

Meanwhile, Good Girls goes Thelma & Louise fast after three suburban moms (Christina Hendricks, Mae Whitman, and Retta) decide to rob a grocery store to solve their financial woes. Mad Men’s bombshell, Christina Hendricks, fires up the screen with one-liners like, “I am going to take a shower. I smell like booze and crime.”

Forecast: Living Biblically. Why not? Probably beats my nightly “soul cleanse” bottle of Chardonnay while watching the nightly news. Meanwhile, Good Girls has game thanks to its triple-threat dynamic female leads. It will also inspire me try a new line on my wife after we watch the bleak evening news. “I am going to take a shower. I smell like wine and resignation.”

Moby []

MUSIC

Big releases on March 2: Moby (Everything Was Beautiful, and Nothing Hurt); Joan Baez (Whistle Down the Wind)

Big picture: Speaking of Biblical, Moby promises a return to gospel and trip-hop. For the record, I’m not sure that combo was in The Bible. The effort’s debut single is Like a Motherless Child, a reworking of the traditional southern spiritual. Other “uplifting” tracks names include The Tired and the Hurt, The Sorrow Train and A Dark Cloud is Coming. Gee, Moby, thanks for cheering us all up from our mid-winter blues.

Meanwhile, iconic folk rocker Joan Baez puts out a covers album, including songs by Josh Ritter, Mary Chapin Carpenter and Tom Waits. It’s all in celebration of her final year of touring in 2018.

Forecast: You won’t listen to Moby’s new album after watching the news — unless you want to go through two bottles of Chardonnay in one night.

]]>http://o.canada.com/entertainment/pop-forecast-for-feb-26-death-wish-mcmafia-and-more/feed0Death Wishpostmedianews1James Norton in McMafiaMobyHolland America’s veteran vessel set for comebackhttp://o.canada.com/travel/ports-and-bows/holland-americas-veteran-vessel-set-for-comeback
http://o.canada.com/travel/ports-and-bows/holland-americas-veteran-vessel-set-for-comeback#respondFri, 23 Feb 2018 23:58:47 +0000http://o.canada.com/?p=766906AT SEA — This week’s column comes to you direct from the Caribbean Sea aboard Holland America Line’s Veendam as she sails around Cuba. It’s too early in the voyage to write about it just yet (more on the actual cruise in next week’s column), but it seems to be the perfect time to talk about some of the other exciting things that Holland America has in store for 2018.

I’ve got a real soft spot for Holland America. Before I ever did this as a career, I’d already accumulated nearly 40 days at sea with the line. I liked Holland America’s classic, quiet elegance, its well-designed ships and clever itineraries and its friendly crews — most of whom hail from Indonesia and the Philippines.

To me, Holland America has always epitomized classic cruising. But a series of recent partnerships with BBC Earth, America’s Test Kitchen and O, The Oprah Magazine ensure that this classic experience is also firmly rooted in the contemporary.

And this year, Holland America has some very cool experiences in store for guests.

Perhaps the company’s boldest move is coming this fall. I’m not talking about the December launch of the Nieuw Statendam (which is very exciting in its own right), but rather the new role that Holland America is carving out for its venerable Maasdam.

Starting in October, Holland America is sending Maasdam on a series of brand new Explorations Central (EXC) In-Depth Voyages — longer and more exotic itineraries that focus heavily on destination immersion through unique port visits and overnight stays in more places. Voyages will run from 12 to 34 days, and will offer an expedition-style experience that focuses on immersion through guest lectures and courses on photography, walking tours, and culinary exploration.

The first of these kicks off on Oct. 14, as Maasdam sails round-trip from Papeete, Tahiti, on an exotic 14-day voyage through the South Pacific. Other itineraries include a 12-day exploration of New Zealand (Nov. 26, Auckland to Auckland); a South Seas Sampler voyage (Nov. 11; Papeete to Auckland); and even a 16-day Southern Ocean Holiday cruise (Dec. 21; Sydney to Freemantle (Perth).

Here’s the really cool bit: Holland America will be outfitting the 1,258-guest Maasdam with its own fleet of zodiac rafts for the first time in the vessel’s history.

“We created EXC In-Depth Voyages to further enhance our guests’ immersion experience in a more personalized way in the exotic destinations featured on this series of specially designed itineraries,” said Orlando Ashford, president of Holland America Line. “The addition of Zodiac tours will allow guests to be modern-day explorers, and Maasdam will visit many ports that we have never been to or haven’t visited in years; EXC In-Depth Voyages are truly unique.”

The task of scouting locations for Maasdam’s first-ever zodiac landings is being left to Dr. Peter Carey, Holland America’s director of explorations. An extensively-travelled zoologist, Carey is director of the Sub-Antarctic Foundation for Ecosystems Research; contributing lecturer at the University of Canterbury and an affiliate professor with the Geography Program at the University of Alaska.

I’m excited about this for another reason: it keeps the pretty, 1994-built Maasdam in the fleet, giving her a renewed purpose that she is perfectly suited for thanks to her modest (by contemporary standards) size. Together with sister-ship Veendam’s new role as the company’s ambassador to Cuba, expect to see these attractive S-Class ships in the fleet a while longer.

Holland America has also crafted some great itineraries this year, one of which is the company’s legendary Voyage of the Vikings. Sailing aboard the 1,404-guest Rotterdam, this grand transatlantic crossing from Boston, Massachusetts has been on my bucket-list for years. You can take it as a 38-day voyage sailing roundtrip Boston, or as a 19-day journey between Boston and Rotterdam or reverse. Stopping in Atlantic Canada, Greenland, Iceland, Scotland, Ireland, Norway and the Netherlands, it is a powerhouse itinerary on the Atlantic.

Finally, if you want to sail aboard Holland’s latest and greatest, some short preview cruises are offered aboard Nieuw Statendam when she debuts, including a four-day cruise to the Bahamas (Dec. 19); and a three-day Half Moon Cay cruise (Jan 30, 2019).

Happy cruising.

Visit Portsandbows.com, sponsored by Expedia CruiseShipCenters, 1-800-410-4744,www.cruise.center, for daily updates on the latest cruise news, best deals and behind-the-scenes stories from the industry. You can also sign up for an email newsletter on the site for even more cruise information. Aaron Saunders may be contacted directly at portsandbowsaaron@gmail.com